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The  "Maine 


CAPTAIN   CHARLES  DWIGUT  SIGSBEE,  D.  S.  N. 


The  "Maine" 

An  Account  of  her  Destruction 
in  Havana  Harbor 


THE  PERSONAL 
NARRATIVE  OF 


Captain  Charles  D.  Sigsbee 


U.    S.   N. 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1899 


Copyright,  1898,  1899,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


THE  DEVINNE  PRESS 


TO  MY  SHIPMATES  OF  THE  "  MAINE," 
THE  DEAD  AND  THE  LIVING,  I  DEDI- 
CATE THIS,  MY  PERSONAL  NAR- 
RATIVE OF  THE  GREAT  DISASTER. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I  OUR  RECEPTION  AT  HAVANA  i 

II  THE  EXPLOSION 59 

III  THE  WRECKING  AND  THE  INQUIRY        .        .        .125 

APPENDICES 

APPENDIX  PAGE 

A    TECHNICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  "MAINE"         .        .        .195 

B      FOR  THE   "VIZCAYA'S"    SAFETY 2O3 

C  FULL  FINDINGS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  COURT  OF  INQUIRY  207 
D  MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  .  213 
E  ENSIGN  POWELSON'S  PERSONAL  REPORT  TO  CAPTAIN  SIGSBEE 

ON   THE  CAUSE   OF   THE   EXPLOSION   OF  THE   "  MAINE1'      .    2IQ 

F    FINDING  OF  THE  SPANISH  COURT  OF  INSTRUCTION  [INQUIRY]  231 

G    NAMES  AND  RATES  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  "  MAINE'S  " 

CREW 246 

H    BURIAL  AND  IDENTIFICATION  LIST  OF  THE  "  MAINE'S"  DEAD  257 


Vll 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  DWIGHT  SIGSBEE,  U.  S.  N.  .     Frontispiece 

From  a  photograph  by  Parker,  Washington,  D.  C. 

FACING  PAGE 

THE  CREW  OF  THE  "  MAINE  "  RETURNING  FROM  SHORE- 
DRILL,  AT  FORT  MONROE 4 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

GENERAL  FITZHUGH  LEE,  UNITED  STATES  CONSUL- 
GENERAL  AT  HAVANA 8 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart,  made  on  the  deck  of  the  "  Montgomery." 

LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER  ADOLPH  MARIX,  FORMER  EX- 
ECUTIVE OFFICER  OF  THE  "  MAINE  " 12 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

CAPTAIN  CROWNINSHIELD  (DURING  THE  SPANISH  WAR  A 
MEMBER  OF  THE  NAVAL  BOARD)  RECEIVING  MR. 
HERBERT,  THEN  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY,  ON 
BOARD  THE  "MAINE" 16 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

THE  "  MAINE  "  ENTERING  HAVANA  HARBOR,  MORRO 
CASTLE  ON  THE  RIGHT 20 

VIEW  OF  HAVANA  HARBOR  FROM  A  WHARF  IN  REGLA  —  I     24 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

VIEW  OF  HAVANA  HARBOR  FROM  A  WHARF  IN  REGLA — II     28 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

ix 


List  of  Illustrations 

FACING  PAGE 

THE  "  MAINE  "  SALUTING  THE  SPANISH  FLAG  AFTER 
MAKING  FAST  TO  THE  OFFICIAL  BUOY,  AT  WHICH  SHE 
WAS  DESTROYED 32 

LUNCHEON  GIVEN  AT  THE  HAVANA  YACHT-CLUB  AT  1 1 
A.  M.,  JANUARY  30,  1898,  BY  UNITED  STATES  CONSUL- 
GENERAL  FITZHUGH  LEE,  TO  THE  CAPTAIN  AND  OFFI- 
CERS OF  THE  U.  S.  S.  "  MAINE" 34 

From  a  photograph  by  Gomez  de  la  Carretez. 

FACSIMILE  OF  THE  CIRCULAR  HANDED  TO  CAPTAIN 
SlGSBEE  ON  HIS  WAY  TO  THE  BULL-FlGHT  AND  LATER 
SENT  TO  HIM  THROUGH  THE  HAVANA  POST-OFFICE  .  37 

CAPTAIN  SIGSBEE,  GENERAL  FITZHUGH  LEE,  SEVERAL 
OFFICERS  OF  THE  "  MAINE,"  AND  CIVILIANS  AT  THE 
HAVANA  YACHT-CLUB 40 

From  a  photograph  by  Gomez  de  la  Carretez. 

CAPTAIN  SIGSBEE  IN  THE  CAPTAIN'S  CABIN  ON  BOARD 
THE  "MAINE" 44 

THE  WARD-ROOM  OF  THE  "  MAINE  " 48 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

CAPTAIN-GENERAL  RAMON  BLANCO 52 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

SIGNAL-DRILL  ON  THE  DECK  OF  THE  "  MAINE  "...      56 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

THE  MAINTOP 60 

THE  "  MAINE  "  IN  DRY-DOCK  No.  2,  NEW  YORK  NAVY- 
YARD  61 

From  a  photograph  by  Enrique  Muller. 

PRIVATE  WILLIAM  ANTHONY 64 

From  a  photograph  by  C.  J.  Homer,  Boston,  Mass. 

INBOARD  PROFILE  OF  THE  "  MAINE  " 67 

CHIEF  MACHINISTS'  CABIN 68 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

X 


List  of  Illustrations 

FACING  PAGE 

PLANS  OF  MAIN  AND  BERTH  DECKS  .       71 

THE  LAST  SCENE  ON  THE  SINKING  DECK  OF  THE 
"MAINE" 72 

MIDSHIP  SECTION 73 

PLANS  OF  PROTECTIVE  AND  SUPERSTRUCTURE  DECKS    .      75 

FACSIMILE,  REDUCED,  OF  CAPTAIN  SIGSBEE'S  MESSAGE 
TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY,  "  SECNAV  "  BEING 
THE  TELEGRAPHIC  ADDRESS  OF  THE  LATTER  ...  76 

HOLD  PLAN  AND  PLAN  OF  PLATFORM-DECK    ....      79 

FACSIMILE  OF  THE  DESPATCH  WRITTEN  ON  AN  ENVELOP, 
SENT  ON  THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  EXPLOSION 80 

VIEW  OF  THE  WRECK  FROM  THE  STERN 84 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

THE  CENTRAL  SUPERSTRUCTURE,  INCLUDING  THE  CON- 
NING-TOWER,  THROWN  UPSIDE  DOWN 88 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

THE  AFTER  TORPEDO-TUBE      92 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

LIEUTENANT  FRIEND  W.  JENKINS 96 

From  a  photograph  by  B.  L.  H.  Dabbs,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

ASSISTANT  ENGINEER  DARWIN  R.  MERRITT 96 

VIEW  MADE  SEVERAL  DAYS  AFTER  THE  EXPLOSION  .    .    100 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

BOTTOM-PLATING,  PROTECTIVE  DECK,  AND  SECOND  LON- 
GITUDINAL SHOWING  ABOVE  THE  WATER 104 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

FUNERAL  OF  NINETEEN  OF  THE  "  MAINE'S  "  DEAD,  FROM 
THE  MUNICIPAL  PALACE,  HAVANA 108 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

GRAVE  OF  THE  "  MAINE'S  "  DEAD  IN  THE  CEMETERY  AT 
HAVANA 112 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

xi 


List  of  Illustrations 

FACING   PAGE 

THE  "  MAINE'S  "  BASEBALL  NINE  AS  ORGANIZED  AT  THE 
TIME  OF  THE  EXPLOSION 116 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

MINSTREL  GROUP  WHO  PERFORMED  AT  THE  ENTERTAIN- 
MENT GIVEN  BY  THE  CREW  OF  THE  "  MAINE  "  TO  THE 
CREW  OF  THE  "COLUMBIA" 120 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

THE  COURT  OF  INQUIRY  ON  BOARD  THE  "  MANGROVE"     125 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

SURVIVORS  AT  THE  HOSPITAL,  KEY  WEST,  MAKING  THE 
INITIAL  OF  THE  LOST  SHIP 127 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart 

ENSIGN  W.  V.  N.  POWELSON,  U.  S.  N 128 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

KEY  RECOVERED  FROM  THE  WRECK  OF  THE  "  MAINE  "     131 

HAVANA  PASSENGER-BOATS  AROUND  THE  SPANISH 
CRUISER  "  VIZCAYA"  ON  A  VISITING  DAY 132 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

THE  "  MONTGOMERY  "  SALUTING  AFTER  MOORING  AT 
HAVANA  .  136 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

WRECKING  WITH  THE  AID  OF  HYDRAULIC  JACKS   .    .    .    140 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

EXPERT  DIVER  ANDREW  OLSEN  PREPARING  TO  DESCEND  146 

Redrawn  from  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

GROUP  OF  PETTY  OFFICERS  ON  BOARD  THE  "  MAINE  "  .    152 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

REVOLVER-DRILL  ON  THE  STARBOARD  SUPERSTRUCTURE 
OF  THE  "MAINE" 156 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

SPANISH  DIVERS  AT  WORK  OUTSIDE  THE  WRECK  OF  THE 
"MAINE"  160 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

xii 


List  of  Illustrations 

FACING  PAGE 

A  VIEW  OF  THE  SMOKING  WRECK  OF  THE   "  MAINE," 
TAKEN  EARLY  IN  THE  MORNING  AFTER  THE  EXPLOSION  164 

From  a  photograph  by  George  Bronson  Rea. 

LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER  RICHARD  WAINWRIGHT,  EXECU- 
TIVE OFFICER  OF  THE  "  MAINE  " 168 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  H.  Hart. 

LIEUTENANT  JOHN  J.  BLANDIN 172 

From  a  photograph  by  R.  W.  Harrison,  Selma,  Ala. 

NAVAL  CADET  DAVID  F.  BOYD,  JR 176 

From  a  photograph  by  Buffham,  Annapolis,  Md. 

SURGEON  LUCIEN  G.  HENEBERGER 176 

From  a  photograph  by  Prince,  Old  Point  Comfort,  Va. 

PAYMASTER  CHARLES  M.  RAY 176 

From  a  photograph  by  A.  Farsari  &  Co.,  Yokohama,  Japan. 

LIEUTENANT  ALBERTUS  W.  CATLIN 176 

From  a  photograph  by  A.  E.  Tuck,  Gloversville,  N.  Y. 

CARPENTER  GEORGE  HELMS 176 

From  a  photograph  by  R.  Weiss,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

PAY-CLERK  BRENT  MCCARTHY .    176 

From  a  photograph  by  A.  Farsari  &  Co.,  Yokohama,  Japan. 

GUNNER  JOSEPH  HILL 176 

From  a  photograph  by  S.  Young,  New  York. 

NAVAL  CADET  ARTHUR  CRENSHAW 180 

From  a  photograph  by  Prince,  Old  Point  Comfort,  Va. 

PASSED  ASSISTANT  ENGINEER  FREDERIC  C.  BOWERS     .    180 

From  a  photograph  by  Butler,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

BOATSWAIN  FRANCIS  E.  LARKIN 180 

From  a  photograph  by  F.  Gutekunst,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

CHAPLAIN  JOHN  P.  CHIDWICK ,    .    .    180 

From  a  photograph  by  Anderson,  New  York. 

CHIEF  ENGINEER  CHARLES  P.  HOWELL 180 

From  a  photograph  by  Pach  Bros.,  New  York. 

NAVAL  CADET  POPE  WASHINGTON 180 

From  a  photograph  by  Buff  hum,  Annapolis,  Md. 

xiii 


List  of  Illustrations 

FACING  PAGE 

ASSISTANT  ENGINEER  JOHN  R.  MORRIS 180 

From  a  photograph  by  Prince,  New  York  and  Washington,  D.  C. 

DIAGRAM   SHOWING  HOW  A   MINE  MIGHT  HAVE  BEEN 
PLACED  UNDER  THE  "  MAINE  " 182 

LIEUTENANT  JOHN  HOOD 184 

LIEUTENANT  GEORGE  P.  BLOW 184 

From  a  photograph  by  Moore,  New  Orleans,  La. 

NAVAL  CADET  JONAS  H.  HOLDEN 184 

From  a  photograph  by  Hart. 

LIEUTENANT  GEORGE  F.  W.  HOLMAN 184 

From  a  photograph  by  Weiss,  New  York. 

LIEUTENANT  CARL  W.  JUNGEN ,    184 

From  a  photograph  by  Rice,  Washington,  D.  C. 

NAVAL  CADET  WATT  T.  CLUVERIUS 184 

From  a  photograph  by  G.  Moses  &  Son,  New  Orleans,  La. 

NAVAL  CADET  AMON  BRONSON,  JR 184 

From  a  photograph  by  J.  W.  Taylor,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

THE  SECOND-CLASS  BATTLE-SHIP  "MAINE,"  BLOWN  UP 
IN  HAVANA  HARBOR,  FEBRUARY  15,  1898 188 


xiv 


THE   "MAINE" 


THE  "MAINE 


OUR   RECEPTION   AT   HAVANA 


explosion  of  the  Maine  at  Havana,  on 
JL-  February  15,  1898,  was  the  ultimate  inci- 
dent which  impelled  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  regard  Spain  as  an  impossible  neigh- 
bor. Although  the  war  which  followed  was  not 
founded  on  the  destruction  of  the  Maine  as  a 
political  cause,  that  disaster  was  the  pivotal 
event  of  the  conflict  which  has  terminated  Span- 
ish possession  in  the  Western  World.  Consid- 
erations like  these  must  continue  to  give  the 
Maine  a  unique  place  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States,  especially  since  the  character  and 
magnitude  of  the  disaster  make  it  one  of  the 
most  shocking  on  record. 

The  story  of  the  Maine  leading  up   to  the 
explosion  may  be  said  to  begin  at  the  Southern 


The  "  Maine" 

drill-ground  of  the  North  Atlantic  Squadron,  as 
far  back  as  October  9,  1897.  The  New  York, 
Iowa,  Brooklyn,  Massachusetts,  Indiana,  Texas, 
and  Maine  —  all  now  historic  —  had  been  on  a 
cruise  along  the  New  England  coast,  ending  at 
Bar  Harbor  on  August  31.  From  Bar  Harbor 
they  proceeded  in  squadron  to  the  Southern 
drill-ground,  about  twenty-five  miles  to  the  east- 
ward of  Cape  Charles,  a  locality  set  apart  for 
drills  by  reason  of  its  comparative  remoteness 
from  the  common  commercial  route  of  coasting- 
vessels,  as  well  as  its  convenient  depth  of  water 
for  anchorage.  The  squadron  was  under  the 
command  of  Rear- Admiral  Montgomery  Sicard. 
The  night  of  October  8  terminated  a  period  of 
hard  work  of  the  kind  which  brought  overwhelm- 
ing victory  later.  Part  of  the  time  had  been 
spent  at  Hampton  Roads  in  recoaling,  and  at 
Yorktown  in  sham  fighting  on  shore,  and  in 
small-arms  target  practice.  The  days  at  sea 
had  been  spent  in  squadron  evolutions,  target 
practice,  and  signaling,  and  the  nights,  at  least 
in  part,  in  night-signaling,  search-light  drill,  and 
in  secondary-battery  practice,  simulating  the 
conditions  of  attack  by  torpedo-boats.  It  was 
not  mere  routine ;  it  was  the  business  of  warfare, 
pursued  with  stern  official  conscience,  under  a 
commander-in -chief  who  throughout  his  whole 

2 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

career  had  been  conspicuous  for  official  con- 
science. 

On  the  night  of  October  8,  the  squadron  was 
at  the  Southern  drill-ground  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  the  Brooklyn,  which  had  gone  to  Hampton 
Roads  for  minor  repairs.  It  was  expected  that 
the  whole  squadron  would  get  under  way  for 
Boston  that  night.  We  of  the  Maine  were  won- 
dering at  the  delay  of  the  Brooklyn,  when, 
toward  midnight,  the  torpedo-boats  Dupont  and 
Ericsson  joined  the  squadron  from  Hampton 
Roads,  with  despatches  for  the  commander-in- 
chief.  As  a  result  of  these  despatches,  the  In- 
diana (Captain  H.  C.  Taylor)  was  detachedand 
sent  to  Hampton  Roads,  and  the  Maine,  my 
command,  to  Port  Royal,  South  Carolina.  The 
Indiana  got  away  during  the  night,  but  the 
Maine  was  repairing  some  injury,  and  did  not 
part  company  with  the  squadron  until  dawn  of 
the  following  day.  Thus  began  a  virtually  un- 
broken tour  of  independent  service  for  the  Maine, 
which  was  connected  more  or  less  intimately 
with  the  disturbed  condition  of  affairs  in  Cuba, 
and  culminated  in  the  explosion  at  Havana. 

The  Maine  arrived  in  Port  Royal  Sound  on 
October  12.  The  next  day  she  was  taken  up 
the  river,  and  moored  in  a  hole  just  large 
enough  to  fit  her,  immediately  above  the  naval 

3 


The  "Maine" 

station,  and  about  four  miles  below  Beaufort. 
She  remained  there  until  November  15.  Hav- 
ing visited  the  place  before,  she  excited  no  inter- 
est among  the  people  of  that  locality.  Except- 
ing our  pleasant  association  with  friends  at  the 
naval  station,  we  had  a  dull  time.  Having  been 
ordered  to  Port  Royal  unexpectedly,  the  de- 
pleted state  of  my  own  larder  made  it  difficult  for 
me  to  return  the  dinners  given  me  at  the  station. 
I  resorted  to  invention,  which  suggested  roast 
pig  highly  ornamented.  My  pig  was  brought 
on  the  table  whole,  bearing  a  silken  banner 
emblazoned  with  the  legend :  "  This  little  pig 
went  to  market."  My  guests  were  courteous 
enough  to  make  me  believe  that  the  pig  was  ac- 
ceptable. My  next  subterfuge  was  to  have  been 
a  possum.  I  had  him  undergoing  the  fatten- 
ing process,  but  the  Maine  left  before  he  had 
reached  an  amplitude  that  was  satisfactory.  One 
Sunday  morning  some  of  us  were  taken  to  a 
negro  church  by  a  party  from  the  station.  The 
officiating  clergyman  was  a  stout,  thick -set  negro, 
doubtless  a  very  good  man.  He  felt  keenly  the 
difficulty  of  preaching  to  a  well-educated  party 
of  white  people,  and  remarked,  with  some  con- 
cern, "  You  got  me  in  a  tight  place."  After  the 
prayer  and  hymn,  he  announced  his  text  with  a 
striking  attitude.  With  uplifted  hands  and  wide- 

4 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

spread  arms,  he  paused  for  attention,  and,  get- 
ting it,  gave  the  text,  which  was :  "  I  am  the 
rose  of  Sharon,  and  the  lily  of  the  valley."  He 
said  various  things  strange  to  cultivated  ears, 
but  his  sermon  was  effective,  and  deeply  im- 
pressed those  for  whom  it  was  primarily 
intended. 

Although  my  orders  to  Port  Royal  gave  me 
no  information  as  to  the  purpose,  it  was  hoped 
at  the  time  that  the  ship  might  be  able  to  dock 
there ;  but  the  water  outside  the  dock  proved 
to  be  too  shallow.  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
in  the  Visit  of  the  Maine  to  Port  Royal  it  was 
intended  to  have  a  United  States  man-of-war 
nearer  Cuba.  Many  citizens  were  then  very 
restless  as  to  the  safety  of  our  own  people  in  that 
island.  I  had  no  instructions  to  take  any  mea- 
sures whatever ;  the  Maine  was  simply  awaiting 
further  orders.  She  made  good  use  of  her  time 
at  Port  Royal.  The  battalion  was  repeatedly 
landed  and  drilled  at  the  station  ;  every  member 
of  the  crew  was  given  target  practice  with  small 
arms,  and  her  ten-inch  guns  were  tested  for 
rapidity  of  fire.  It  was  the  custom  in  the  North 
Atlantic  Squadron  to  have  aiming-drills  every 
afternoon  on  week-days.  No  scheme  alone  can 
teach  gunners  to  hit.  Correct  aim  comes  from 
practice  —  and  more  practice. 

5 


The  "Maine" 

We  left  Port  Royal  on  November  15,  as  al- 
ready stated,  and  steamed  north  to  the  Norfolk 
navy-yard,  where  the  vessel  was  docked  and  put 
under  slight  repairs.  While  at  Norfolk,  Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Adolph  Marix,  the  executive 
officer, —  and  a  very  able  one, —  was  detached. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant-Commander 
Richard  Wainwright,  who  afterward  got  his 
opportunity,  and  distinguished  himself  in  com- 
mand of  the  Gloucester,  off  Santiago  de  Cuba. 

The  Maine  and  the  Texas  were  the  first  of  the 
modern  steel  battle-ships  built  by  the  United 
States.  The  Maine  was  originally  designed  as 
an  armored  cruiser,  with  a  considerable  spread 
of  square  canvas.  Her  sail  plan  in  my  posses- 
sion shows  her  as  a  bark  with  squaresails  to 
topgallantsails,  but  no  headbooms.  It  was 
then  contemplated  to  give  her  7135  square 
feet  of  canvas.  Later,  sails  were  abandoned, 
and  she  was  styled  a  second-class  battle-ship. 
She  was  designed  at  the  Navy  Department  and 
built  at  the  New  York  navy-yard.  Her  keel 
was  laid  October  17,  1888  ;  she  was  launched 
November  18,  1890,  commissioned  September 
17,  1895,  and  left  the  navy-yard  at  10  A.  M.  on 
November  5,  1895,  drawing  22  feet  and  i  inch 
forward  and  21  feet  and  8  inches  aft.  When 
fully  supplied  with  coal  and  provisions  she 

6 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

was  "  down  by  the  head."  The  Maine  differed 
greatly  in  appearance  from  all  other  vessels  of 
the  United  States  navy.  Instead  of  one  super- 
structure, as  commonly  seen,  she  had  three,  for- 
ward, after,  and  central.  All  were  of  the  same 
breadth  transversely.  Their  sides  at  the  bow 
and  stern  were  formed  by  the  continuation 
upward  of  the  outside  skin  of  the  ship.  Along 
the  sides  of  the  superstructures  there  was  a  clear 
deck-space  affording  enough  room  for  formations 
and  drills.  I  have  frequently  been  asked  to  state 
the  color  of  the  Maine's  outside  paintwork.  Her 
hull  was  white  to  the  rail ;  the  superstructures, 
funnels,  and  masts,  and  all  permanent  fittings 
above  the  rail  except  the  pilot-house,  were  dark 
straw-color.  The  pilot-house  was  of  varnished 
mahogany.  The  boats  and  bower-anchors  were 
white;  the  guns  and  search-lights  were  black. 
There  were  larger  ships  in  the  navy  than  the 
Maine,  but  none  more  delightful  to  command  or 
to  serve  in.  Her  quarters  were  ample  for  every- 
body, although  certain  compartments  were  rather 
too  hot  for  comfort  in  warm  weather.  The 
members  of  the  crew  were  berthed  chiefly  in  the 
forward  and  the  central  superstructures,  and  on 
the  berth-deck  forward  of  the  junior  officers' 
quarters.  This  distribution  of  the  crew,  when 
considered  in  connection  with  the  region  of  the 

7 


The  "Maine" 

explosion,  explains  the  loss  of  so  many  of  the 
crew  as  compared  with  the  officers.  The  quar- 
ters of  the  officers  were  aft ;  mine  were  in  the 
after-superstructure,  all  of  which  had  been  ap- 
portioned to  quarters  for  a  flag-officer  and  the 
captain.  The  Maine  was  not  a  flagship ;  there- 
fore the  captain  acquired  the  admiral's  quarters 
in  addition  to  his  own.  The  ward-room  state- 
rooms were  on  the  berth-deck,  below  the  cap- 
tain's cabin.  On  the  starboard  side  of  the 
compartment  immediately  forward  of  the  ward- 
room was  the  ward- room  officers'  mess-room ; 
and  forward  of  this,  also  on  the  starboard  side, 
and  in  the  same  compartment,  were  the  junior 
officers'  quarters.  All  forward  of  this  compart- 
ment was  assigned  to  the  crew.  It  was  chiefly 
on  the  berth-deck  that  the  greatest  destruction 
of  sleeping  men  resulted  from  the  explosion. 
The  Maine  had  two  "winged"  or  "  sponsoned  " 
turrets;  that  is  to  say,  they  were  at  the  sides 
and  projected  a  few  feet  beyond  the  hull.  They 
were  placed  between  the  superstructures,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  ship,  as  is  shown  in  the  many 
photographs  of  the  vessel.  In  each  were  two 
ten-inch  breech-loading  rifles.  In  addition,  she 
carried  six  six-inch  breech-loading  rifles,  besides 
seven  six-pounder  and  eight  one-pounder 
rapid-firing  rifles.  She  had  four  above-water 

8 


GENERAL   FITZHUGH   LEE,  UNITED  STATES 
CONSUL-GENERAL   AT  HAVANA. 

From  a  photograph  made  on  the  deck  of 
the  Montgomery. 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

torpedo-tubes  on  her  berth-deck,  all  in  broadside. 
The  arrangement  of  her  compartments  was  sim- 
ple for  a  battle-ship,  so  she  responded  readily  to 
any  work  done  on  her  to  make  her  look  clean 
and  orderly.  She  had  two  hundred  and  fourteen 
water-tight  compartments,  as  ascertained  by  a  re- 
cent inspection  of  her  drawings.  All  that  were 
not  occupied  by  the  officers  or  crew  were  closed 
at  night.  The  following  are  statistics  relating  to 
her:  extreme  length,  324  feet;  beam,  57  feet; 
displacement,  6650  tons ;  indicated  horse-power, 
9290;  trial  speed,  17.45  knots.  She  had  an 
armored  belt  extending  180  feet  at  the  water- 
line  on  each  side,  over  which  was  a  flat,  armored 
deck.  Joining  the  two  forward  ends  of  the  belt 
was  a  heavy  steel  bulkhead,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  was  an  armored  deck  that  continued  to  the 
stem.  The  flat  steel  deck  above  armor  dipped 
down  abaft  the  belt,  and  was  continued  to  the 
stern,  one  deck  below,  with  a  slightly  diminished 
thickness.  Her  barbettes  and  turrets  were  of 
heavy  steel.  The  barbettes  rested  on  the  ar- 
mored deck  below.  A  more  complete  description 
of  the  Maine  is  given  in  Appendix  A. 

From  Norfolk  the  Maine  was  ordered  to  Key 
West,  where  she  arrived  on  December  15,  and 
moored  in  the  harbor  off  the  city.  My  orders 
there  were  confidential,  but  they  were  of  such  a 

9 


The  "Maine" 

nature  that  they  might  at  any  time  have  been 
made  public  with  propriety,  had  the  government 
so  desired.  They  were,  in  brief,  that  the  Maine 
was  to  proceed  to  Havana  in  case  of  grave  local 
disturbances  in  that  city,  to  give  asylum  to  Amer- 
ican citizens,  and  to  afford  them  the  usual  protec- 
tion. The  immediate  judgment  as  to  the  neces- 
sity for  the  services  of  the  Maine  was  to  come 
from  General  Fitzhugh  Lee,  United  States  consul- 
general  at  Havana.  I  promptly  opened  commu- 
nication with  General  Lee,  both  by  letter  and  by 
telegraph.  My  letters  were  sent  in  such  a  way 
as  to  be  entirely  secret.  There  was  no  impro- 
priety in  the  measures  that  were  taken.  True 
or  false,  the  Havana  post-office  was  not  free  from 
the  suspicion  of  delaying  letters.  It  was  arranged 
between  General  Lee  and  myself  that  on  the  re- 
ceipt from  him,  by  telegraph  or  otherwise,  of  the 
words  "Two  dollars,"  the  Maine  was  to  make 
preparations  to  start  for  Havana  two  hours  after 
further  notice.  The  actual  start  was  to  be  made 
on  the  receipt  of  a  second  preconcerted  message. 
The  form  of  our  correspondence  was  a  matter 
between  General  Lee  and  myself.  Toward  the 
last  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  make  occasional 
tests  to  ascertain  if  telegraphic  communication 
continued  open.  Therefore  nearly  every  day  I 
sent  a  message  to  General  Lee,  and  he  answered 

10 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

it.  Some  of  these  were  rather  absurd.  In  one  I 
inquired  of  General  Lee  the  state  of  the  weather 
on  the  south  side  of  Cuba.  He  promptly  replied 
that  he  did  not  know — which  was  quite  as  grati- 
fying as  if  he  had  been  fully  informed.  At  an- 
other time  I  cabled,  "  What  is  the  price  of  bull- 
fight fans  ? "  to  which  he  replied,  giving  me 
quotations.  Afterward  I  bought  some  of  the 
fans  commonly  used,  as  souvenirs  of  a  Havana 
visit,  and  they  were  lost  with  the  Maine. 

One  night,  about  six  or  seven  o'clock,  I  received 
the  preliminary  message.  The  Maine  was  im- 
mediately prepared  for  sea.  Knowing  that  Key 
West  would  be  alert  as  to  any  sign  of  movement, 
I  gave  orders  that  all  hands  should  repair  on 
board  immediately  upon  the  firing  of  a  gun  from 
the  Maine;  then,  in  company  with  a  number  of 
the  officers,  I  went  on  shore  to  a  dance  at  the 
hotel,  my  particular  object  being  to  divert  suspi- 
cion. I  was  asked  a  number  of  questions  as  to 
the  departure  of  the  Maine;  but  we  had  managed 
so  well  that  some  of  the  crew  had  already  given 
out  that  we  were  going  to  New  York. 

The  final  message  to  the  Maine  from  General 
Lee  never  came.  During  the  whole  visit  I  was 
kept  fully  informed  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  at 
Havana.  The  riot  that  occurred  in  the  streets 
on  January  1 2,  in  which  certain  newspaper  offices 

II 


The  "Maine" 

were  the  chief  object  of  attack,  most  naturally  led 
us  to  fear  that  there  might  be  danger  to  Amer- 
ican citizens. 

It  is  probable  that  too  great  importance  was 
attached  to  that  riot  by  the  press  of  the  United 
States :  early  news  is  not  always  the  most  accu- 
rate news ;  nevertheless,  it  was  sufficiently  grave 
when  viewed  by  a  country  which  could  not  control 
the  situation  and  whose  interests  were  involved. 
The  continued  immunity  of  those  who  partici- 
pated seemed  to  give  promise  of  further  trouble. 
Like  most  riots,  that  one  was  swelled  by  unex- 
pected numbers — and  purposes,  too,  probably. 
With  excited  mobs  it  is  a  short  and  rapid  step 
from  one  purpose  to  another:  the  final  purpose 
may  have  little  or  no  relation  to  the  first  one.  It 
did  not  appear  that  any  demonstration  was  in- 
tended or  made  against  Americans.  A  Spanish 
lady,  an  apologist  for  the  riot,  told  me  that  it  was 
begun  by  young  Spanish  army  officers  who  were 
stung  by  insinuations  or  insults  published  by  the 
Havana  press  against  the  Spanish  army  in  Cuba. 
In  the  same  spirit  that  leads  students  to  occasion- 
ally redress  a  wrong  excitedly  and  by  force,  the 
young  Spaniards  made  an  attack  on  the  news- 
paper offices ;  citizens  then  took  part,  and  the 
trouble  grew  beyond  the  intention  of  those  who 
began  it 

12 


LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER  AOOLPH   MAKIX,  FOKMEK  EXECUTIVE 
OFFICER  OF  THE  "MAINE  " 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

While  at  Key  West  I  was  directed  by  the  Navy 
Department  to  assist  the  collector  of  that  port 
in  operating  against  filibustering  expeditions, 
I  being  senior  officer  present  during  the  whole 
visit.  At  that  time  the  Spanish  press  was  in- 
dignant because  it  assumed  that  the  United 
States  was  doing  nothing  to  put  a  stop  to  filibus- 
tering. Certainly  the  American  public  had  far 
more  ground  for  indignation ;  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  put  a  complete  stop  to  filibustering 
where  there  were  so  many  bases  of  operation 
as  existed  along  the  Florida  reefs  and  on  the 
coasts  north  of  them.  It  was  generally  the  case 
that  when  an  expedition  was  able  to  leave  the 
United  States,  it  landed  in  Cuba  according  to 
schedule.  At  one  time  five  vessels  engaged  in 
watching  for  filibusters  were  in  touch  with  the 
Maine  by  telegraph  ;  and  the  Maine's  steam- 
launches,  as  well  as  the  MarbleheacTs  launches, 
were  out  at  night,  bringing-to  vessels  moving  out 
of  Key  West  harbor.  We  did  our  work  con- 
scientiously. 

At  Key  West  I  both  accepted  and  gave  a  few 
luncheons  or  dinners.  People  from  ashore  ap- 
pear to  enjoy  shipboard  entertainments  beyond 
reason  as  conceived  by  those  who  entertain 
afloat;  novelty  garnishes  the  feast,  I  suppose. 
John  R.  Bell,  my  cabin  steward,  was  a  "char- 

13 


The  "  Maine" 

acter" —  one  of  the  lovable,  old-fashioned  sort 
of  "colored  folks."  He  had  not  much  merit 
as  a  chef,  excepting  that  he  could  always  find 
delicate  lettuce,  even,  it  seemed,  where  it  had 
never  before  been  known.  He  was  honest  to 
the  core,  and  true  to  his  duties.  I  never  knew 
him  to  give  himself  any  pleasure  on  shore,  except- 
ing the  sad  one  of  decorating  the  grave  of  a 
naval  officer  whom  he  had  loved  and  served.  It 
was  impossible  to  find  fault  with  him  without 
punishing  one's  self.  One  could  object  to  his  acts 
only  by  delicate  suggestion  or  kindly  subterfuge. 
Periodically  he  would  make  me  a  pound-cake.  I 
would  cut  from  it  a  single  slice,  which  I  would 
secretly  throw  away.  The  cake  would  then 
adorn  my  sideboard  in  its  remaining  integrity 
for  many  days,  to  Bell's  evident  pride.  His 
range  of  desserts  was  small.  When  he  felt  that 
he  had  run  through  his  gamut,  and  needed  time 
to  think,  he  would  make  me  an  apple-pie,  a 
colossal  monstrosity  that  I  abhorred.  I  would 
eat  of  his  apple-pie  —  the  same  pie — day  after 
day  until  it  neared  its  end,  when  immunity  would 
be  claimed  on  the  ground  of  its  extreme  richness. 
It  was  Bell's  habit  to  agree  with  me  before  I  had 
fully  expressed  any  wish  or  thought.  He  would 
agree  with  me  audibly  at  every  stage  of  a  ver- 
bal direction.  There  were  noble  deeds  known  to 

14 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

me  that  he  had  done  secretly  year  after  year. 
No  man  can  do  more  than  his  uttermost  best, 
and  that  old  Bell  did  habitually,  according  to  his 
simple  understanding. 

I  had  been  to  Key  West  many  times,  but  not 
since  1878.  In  the  meantime  the  city  had  grown 
and  had  polished  itself  amazingly.  Formerly 
orders  to  visit  Key  West  were  regarded  as  nearly 
equivalent  to  confinement  to  the  ship.  The  place 
had  no  attraction  in  itself,  and  there  was  hardly 
any  exchange  of  courtesies  between  the  residents 
and  the  naval  officers.  The  market  offered  little 
but  fish  and  turtle.  But  during  the  Maine's  visit 
we  had  a  most  agreeable  time,  and  made  the 
acquaintance  of  many  people.  The  city  had  de- 
cidedly "gone  into  society."  Young  naval  officers 
were  beginning  to  marry  there,  and  with  good 
reason,  according  to  my  view  of  the  matrimonial 
market.  Various  cities,  in  turn,  have  appeared 
to  hold  the  monopoly  of  naval  marriages,  notably 
Norfolk,  Virginia,  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
and  Erie,  Pennsylvania.  Why  not  Key  West, 
by  way  of  geographical  distribution  ? 

On  Christmas  eve,  and  again  on  Christmas 
night,  the  Maine  was  illuminated  with  hundreds 
of  electric  lights,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Key  West,  very  few  of  whom  had  ever 
seen  such  a  display.  The  arrangement  of  the 

15 


The  "  Maine  " 

Maine's  lights  was  worked  out  on  board.  It 
appeared  to  be  generally  conceded  that  it  was 
surpassed  only  by  that  of  the  Brooklyn,  which 
had  been  made  at  a  navy-yard  for  Queen  Vic- 
toria's Jubilee.  The  Maine's  lights  were  strung 
fore  and  aft  in  a  double  rainbow,  from  bow  to 
stern,  and  across  the  mastheads  and  funnels. 
There  was  also  a  row  of  lights  completely  en- 
circling the  ship  along  the  ridge-rope  of  the 
awnings,  which  was  at  the  height  of  the  super- 
structure-deck. The  following  is  quoted  from 
one  of  the  local  newspapers : 

"The  beautiful  illumination  of  the  battle-ship 
Maine,  on  Christmas  eve  and  night,  was  one  of 
the  finest  displays  of  electricity  ever  witnessed  in 
the  city,  or  perhaps  in  the  South.  Hundreds  of 
incandescent  lights  from  the  bow  to  the  stern,  up 
the  masts  and  funnel,  and  around  the  ship's  sides, 
made  her  one  mass  of  lights.  It  was  a  picture 
not  often  seen  in  the  tropical  regions." 

It  became  known  after  a  time  that  the  other 
large  vessels  of  the  North  Atlantic  Squadron, 
under  command  of  Rear- Admiral  Sicard,  were  to 
come  to  the  waters  about  Key  West  for  fleet 
drills  and  evolutions.  At  that  time  of  year  it 
was  impracticable  to  have  the  drills  elsewhere. 
The  United  States  could  not  afford  to  abandon 
its  best  winter  drill-ground  for  no  other  reason 

16 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

than  its  proximity  to  Cuba.  The  squadron  came 
and  had  its  drills,  as  intended,  but  until  war 
was  opened  never  went  nearer  to  Cuba  than 
Key  West  and  Tortugas,  nor,  so  far  as  my 
knowledge  goes,  was  it  ever  intended  that  it 
should. 

During  our  visit  to  Key  West  I  had  inquired 
as  to  the  best  pilot  for  the  reefs.  There  was 
a  general  concurrence  of  opinion  that  Captain 
Smith  was  the  best  man.  He  held  himself  sub- 
ject to  my  call  during  our  whole  stay  at  Key 
West,  when  I  might  have  been  obliged  to  go  out 
at  night  with  the  search-lights.  Very  few  ves- 
sels of  the  Maine's  draft  had  ever  entered  Key 
West  harbor,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  not 
enough  water  inside  to  allow  deep-draft  vessels 
to  swing  clear  of  their  anchors.  The  bottom  is 
hard,  so  anchors  do  not  bury.  There  is  no  great 
difficulty  in  piloting,  except  that  it  is  advisa- 
ble to  hold  rigidly  to  the  channel,  which  is  nar- 
row, so  far  as  its  depth  has  been  tested  by 
vessels  passing  through.  The  danger  to  be 
feared  arises  from  the  possibility  of  striking 
detached  "coral  heads"  that  have  not  been  de- 
tected in  the  surveys  that  have  been  charted. 
A  number  of  these  heads  at  Key  West  and  Tor- 
tugas have  been  discovered  by  the  contact  with 
them  of  United  States  men-of-war.  The  squad- 

17 


The  "  Maine  " 

ron  was  duly  reported  off  Jupiter  Inlet,  on  its 
passage  south.  We  knew,  therefore,  at  Key 
West,  very  nearly  the  hour  when  it  would  arrive 
off  the  reefs.  The  Maine  had  received  orders 
to  join  the  squadron  when  it  appeared.  It 
arrived  off  the  reefs  on  Sunday,  January  23, 
1898.  I  sent  ashore  for  our  pilot,  who  in 
response  was  obliged  to  report  that  the  pilot 
commissioners  refused  to  let  him  take  the  Maine 
out,  because  their  local  rule  of  precedence  re- 
quired that  the  pilot  who  brought  us  in  should 
by  right  take  us  out.  I  appealed  against  this 
rule  as  being  merely  one  of  local  convenience 
or  comfort,  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  value  of 
the  Maine  and  the  important  public  interests 
involved.  The  board  of  pilot  commissioners 
weakened  not  —  neither  did  I.  The  Maine  went 
out  without  a  pilot ;  so  somebody  lost  nearly  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  remained  in  the 
coffers  of  the  United  States.  While  passing  out 
I  made  sketches  and  copious  notes  of  all  the 
ranges  and  bearings  used  by  the  Maine,  intend- 
ing to  formulate  them  and  send  them  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  in  the  hope  of  relieving 
others  of  our  vessels  from  petty  and  vexatious 
rules.  My  sketches  and  notes  were  lost  with  the 
Maine.  After  the  departure  of  the  Maine, 
the  torpedo-boat  Gushing,  Lieutenant  Albert 

18 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

Cleaves,  was  charged  with  the  maintenance  of 
communication  with  General  Lee. 

On  Sunday,  the  squadron,  which  included  the 
New  York,  Iowa,  Massachusetts,  Indiana,  and 
Texas,  arrived  off  Key  West.  These  vessels 
were  joined  by  the  Maine,  Montgomery,  and  De- 
troit, from  Key  West  harbor.  When  I  went  on 
board  the  flagship  New  York  to  report  to  Ad- 
miral Sicard,  he  looked  so  ill  that  I  was  greatly 
pleased  at  having  ordered  in  advance  all  the  ar- 
rangements at  Key  West  that  were  deemed  by 
him  necessary  to  maintain  and  report  communi- 
cations with  General  Lee.  Continued  ill  health 
made  it  necessary,  about  a  month  afterward,  for 
Admiral  Sicard  to  relinquish  the  command  of  the 
United  States  naval  force  on  the  North  Atlantic 
station.  It  was  only  natural  that  I  should  greatly 
regret  the  detachment  of  Admiral  Sicard.  He 
had  done  me  the  honor  to  suggest  that  I  take 
command  of  his  flagship  on  the  detachment  of 
Captain  Silas  Casey,  when  the  latter  concluded 
his  tour  of  sea  service.  After  long  consideration, 
I  requested  permission  to  decline  the  command 
of  the  New  York,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  a 
greater  field  for  the  acquirement  and  exercise  of 
professional  skill  in  a  separate  command.  Under- 
lying my  declination  was  also  the  hope  that  I 
might,  ultimately,  reach  Havana  with  the  Maine. 


The  "  Maine" 

That  night  the  squadron,  eight  vessels  in  all, 
remained  at  anchor  outside  the  reefs  off  Sand 
Key  light.  The  next  day  it  got  under  way,  and 
steamed  west  for  Tortugas.  In  the  afternoon 
we  sighted  a  large  English  steamer  aground  on 
the  reef  to  the  westward  of  Sand  Key.  She 
signaled  for  immediate  assistance.  The  Detroit 
was  sent  to  aid  her,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
squadron  stood  on.  About  6  P.  M.  the  squadron 
anchored  for  the  night  on  the  bank,  about  ten 
miles  to  the  southward  of  the  southeastern  en- 
trance to  Tortugas  Roads.  After  anchoring,  the 
vessels  were  directed  by  signal  to  bank  fires. 
Approximately  at  nine  o'clock,  while  all  the  ves- 
sels were  engaged  in  receiving  night-signals  from 
the  flagship,  the  Maine,  which  was  occupying  an 
easterly  berth,  sighted  a  vessel  to  the  eastward 
making  Very's  signals  to  attract  attention.  The 
flagship,  being  well  to  the  westward,  did  not  see 
her  for  a  long  time.  From  the  disposition  of  the 
lights  shown  by  the  arriving  vessel,  it  was  evident 
that  she  was  of  a  very  low  free-board  and  very 
narrow  beam.  This,  with  her  high  speed  of  ap- 
proach, convinced  me  that  she  was  a  torpedo-boat 
coming  from  Key  West.  I  surmised  that  she  was 
coming  with  despatches  for  the  commander-in- 
chief.  It  occurred  to  me,  also,  that  she  was  bring- 
ing orders  for  the  Maine  to  go  to  Havana.  It 

20 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

was  an  intuition,  but  nothing  more.  Without 
waiting  for  a  signal  from  the  commander-in-chief, 
I  ordered  fires  spread  and  preparations  made  for 
getting  the  Maine  under  way.  The  gig  was  also 
lowered  and  manned.  The  stranger  proved  to  be 
the  torpedo-boat  Dupont,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant Spencer  S.  Wood.  She  reached  the  flagship 
about  a  half- hour  after  we  had  sighted  her.  Then 
there  was  an  interval  of  suspense,  which  was  con- 
cluded by  a  signal  made  from  the  flagship  for  the 
Maine  to  prepare  to  get  under  way,  and  for  her 
commanding  officer  to  report  on  board  the  flagship. 
The  Maine  at  once  replied,  "  All  ready."  I  was 
in  my  gig  and  away  almost  before  the  signals 
were  answered.  It  was  a  very  dark  night.  The 
sea  was  rough  and  the  tidal  current  strong.  Sud- 
denly the  Dupont  appeared  right  ahead  of  the 
gig,  as  if  she  had  risen  out  of  the  sea.  Her  one 
visible  light  almost  blinded  me.  She  had  seen  us, 
but  we  had  not  sighted  her  until  close  under  her 
bow.  We  made  fast  alongside.  I  went  on  board, 
and  then  sent  the  gig  back  to  the  Maine.  The 
Dupont  steamed  near  the  flagship,  which  vessel 
sent  a  boat  for  me.  There  was  more  rough  work 
in  boarding  the  New  York.  I  reported  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  in  obedience  to  signal. 

Admiral  Sicard  announced  that  he  had  received 
instructions  from  the  Navy  Department  to  send 

21 


The  "  Maine  " 

the  Maine  to  Havana.  I  do  not  know  personally 
the  precise  reason  which  induced  the  United 
States  government  to  act  at  that  particular  time. 
On  the  24th  of  January,  the  day  during  which 
the  events  just  recorded  took  place,  General  Lee 
received  the  following  telegram  from  the  De- 
partment of  State  at  Washington  : 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  government  to  resume  the  friendly 
naval  visits  at  Cuban  ports.  In  that  view,  the  Maine  will  call 
at  the  port  of  Havana  in  a  day  or  two.  Please  arrange  for 
the  friendly  interchange  of  calls  with  the  authorities. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  General  Lee  went 
to  the  palace  and  notified  the  authorities  and 
read  the  telegram  to  them.  Immediately  after 
receiving  the  telegram,  however,  he  sent  the  fol- 
lowing reply  to  the  Department  of  State : 

Advise  visit  be  postponed  six  or  seven  days  to  give  last  ex- 
citement time  to  disappear.  Will  see  authorities,  and  let  you 
know.  Governor-general  away  for  two  weeks.  I  should 
know  day  and  hour  visit. 

In  the  morning  of  the  25th,  only  a  short  time 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Maine  in  Havana,  Gen- 
eral Lee  sent  the  following  telegram : 

At  an  interview,  authorities  profess  to  think  United  States 
has  ulterior  purpose  in  sending  ship.  Say  it  will  obstruct 
autonomy,  produce  excitement,  and  most  probably  a  demonstra- 

22 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

tion.  Ask  that  it  is  not  done  until  they  can  get  instructions 
from  Madrid,  and  say  that  if  for  friendly  purpose,  as  claimed, 
delay  unimportant. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  Maine,  General  Lee  tele- 
graphed to  the  Department  of  State  as  follows: 

Ship  quietly  arrived,  1 1  A.  M.  to-day ;  no  demonstration  so  far. 

The  same  day  he  received  from  the  Department 
of  State  the  following  telegram,  dated  the  24th : 

Maine  has  been  ordered.  Will  probably  arrive  at  Havana 
some  time  to-morrow,  Tuesday.  Cannot  tell  hour.  Possibly 
early.  Cooperate  with  the  authorities  for  her  friendly  visit. 
Keep  us  advised  by  frequent  telegrams. 

My  orders  were  to  proceed  to  Havana  and 
make  a  friendly  visit.  I  was  left  to  act  according 
to  my  own  judgment  in  the  usual  way;  that  is 
to  say,  it  was  undoubtedly  assumed  that  I  would 
know  how  to  act  on  my  arrival  in  Havana,  and 
it  was  intended  to  hold  me  responsible  for  my 
action.  The  situation  seemed  to  call  for  nothing 
more  than  a  strictly  careful  adherence  to  the 
well-known  forms  of  naval  procedure  and  cour- 
tesy. It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  Spanish 
people  in  Havana  would  prefer  that  the  Maine 
should  stay  away ;  but  with  a  lingering  insurrec- 
tion, the  end  of  which  was  not  in  sight,  with 
American  interests  in  Cuba  affected  adversely, 

23 


The  "  Maine" 

and  American  citizens  in  Cuba  alarmed  for  their 
safety,  the  United  States  had  decided  to  show  its 
flag  from  a  public  vessel  in  Cuban  waters.  It  is 
quite  certain  that  I  gave  myself  no  concern  over 
the  diplomatic  peculiarities  of  the  situation.  My 
vessel  was  selected  to  go  to  Havana,  and  I  was 
gratified  at  the  choice,  just  as  any  other  com- 
manding officer  would  have  been.  I  volunteered 
the  remark  to  Admiral  Sicard  that  I  should  try 
to  make  no  mistakes. 

I  rejoined  the  Maine  by  the  same  means  that 
had  been  employed  to  reach  the  flagship.  The 
Maine  got  under  way  about  1 1  p.  M.,  and  stood  to 
the  southward  into  the  Gulf  Stream.  I  wrote  a 
loig  order  in  the  night  order-book  relating  to 
preparatory  work  to  be  done  on  the  morning 
watch,  and  then  turned  in  for  the  night.  I  did 
not  desire  to  reach  Havana  at  early  daylight, 
but  rather  to  steam  in  when  the  town  was 
alive  and  on  its  feet;  therefore  a  landfall  was 
made  at  daylight  the  next  morning,  well  to 
the  westward.  That  was  on  Tuesday,  January 
25.  The  vessel  was  then  slowed  down  and  the 
decks  were  straightened  up,  so  that  she  might 
present  the  usual  orderly  appearance  for  port. 
The  crew  was  required  to  dress  with  exceptional 
neatness  in  blue ;  the  officers  were  in  frock-coats. 
When  all  was  ready,  the  Maine  was  headed  to 

24 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

the  eastward,  nearly  parallel  to  the  shore-line 
of  the  city,  and  toward  the  entrance.  She  was 
sent  ahead  at  full  speed  as  she  passed  the 
city,  and  the  United  States  national  ensign 
was  hoisted  at  the  peak,  and  the  "jack"  at  the 
foremast-head.  This  disclosed  at  once  the  na- 
tionality and  purpose  of  the  vessel ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  Maine  was  a  United  States  man-of-war 
that  desired  a  pilot  to  enter  Havana  harbor.  All 
pilotage  in  and  out  of  Havana,  or  within  the 
harbor,  is  under  the  direction  of  the  captain  of 
the  port,  who  is  a  naval  officer.  The  pilot  ser- 
vice is  entirely  official. 

No  United  States  vessel  had  visited  Havana 
during  the  previous  three  years.  There  was  much 
doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  our  reception  —  to  me, 
at  least,  there  was  doubt,  for  I  was  not  aware 
of  the  character  of  the  diplomatic  exchanges.  I 
was  sincerely  desirous  of  a  friendly  reception,  but 
it  was  my  affair  to  be  ready  for  all  emergencies. 
The  Maine  was  in  such  a  state  of  preparation 
that  she  could  not  have  been  taken  at  much  dis- 
advantage; nevertheless,  she  presented  no  offen- 
sive appearance,  and  meant  no  offense.  On 
board  United  States  men-of-war  it  is  commonly 
only  a  short  step  from  peaceful  appearance  to 
complete  readiness. 

A  pilot  put  off  promptly  to  the  Maine,  and 

25 


The  "  Maine" 

boarded  her  to  seaward  of  the  Morro  quite  in 
the  normal  way,  without  objection  or  unusual  in- 
quiry. He  took  her  in  through  the  narrow  en- 
trance slowly,  and  with  such  care  and  excellent 
skill  that  I  complimented  him  for  it  after  we 
were  made  fast  to  the  buoy.  I  also  commended 
him  to  the  captain  of  the  port  later.  The  forts, 
shores,  and  wharves  were  crowded  with  soldiers 
and  citizens.  A  few  riflemen  could  have  cleared 
our  decks  when  in  the  narrow  entrance  and  un- 
der the  shadow  of  the  lofty  Morro  and  Cabana. 
Whatever  feeling  there  was  against  us  was  kept 
in  check  by  the  populace.  There  were  then  in 
the  harbor,  moored  to  permanent  mooring-buoys, 
two  other  men-of-war :  the  Spanish  cruiser  Al- 
fonso XII,  which  never  changed  her  position, 
from  the  time  the  Maine  arrived  until  the  Maine 
was  sunk ;  and  the  square-rigged  German  train- 
ing-steamer Gniesenau.  The  Maine  moved 
slowly  in,  passing  between  the  two  men-of-war, 
and  was  moored  to  a  mooring-buoy  chosen  by 
the  pilot,  about  four  hundred  yards  south  of  the 
German  vessel  in  the  man-of-war  anchorage  off 
the  Machina  or  Naval  "  Sheers."  She  never  left 
this  buoy,  but  carried  it  down  with  her  when  she 
sank.  It  was  approximately  in  the  position  of 
buoy  No.  5,  as  shown  on  chart  No.  307,  pub- 
lished by  the  United  States  Hydrographic  Of- 

26 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

fice,  but  was  known  at  Havana  as  buoy  No.  4. 
At  the  time  of  the  explosion  of  the  Maine,  the 
Spanish  despatch-boat  Legazpi  occupied  the 
berth  which  had  been  held  formerly  by  the  Gniese- 
nau,  buoy  No.  3  ;  the  Alfonso  XII  was  at  No.  4 
of  Chart  307.  The  day  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Maine,  the  square-rigged  German  training- 
steamer  Charlotte  entered  the  harbor.  Other 
vessels  were  anchored  or  moored  in  localities 
more  or  less  remote  from  the  Maine  —  two  hun- 
dred yards  and  upward. 

Probably  no  forms  of  etiquette  are  more  stable 
than  those  observed  among  navies  in  reciprocat- 
ing courtesies.  They  are  laid  down  in  the  navy 
regulations,  and  are  established  by  rigid  interna- 
tional convention.  Those  relating  to  reciprocal 
courtesies  between  naval  ships  and  military  and 
civil  authorities  are  quite  as  well  established; 
they  are  known  in  all  ports  much  frequented  by 
naval  vessels.  On  the  arrival  of  a  foreign  vessel 
in  port,  the  senior  naval  officer  present  of  the  na- 
tion to  which  the  port  belongs  sends  an  officer  of 
the  rank  of  lieutenant,  or  below,  to  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  arriving  vessel,  with  an  offer  of 
civilities,  or  to  express  the  wish  of  the  naval  au- 
thorities to  give  any  assistance  in  their  power.  On 
the  departure  of  the  officer  who  makes  this  "visit 
of  ceremony,"  an  officer  of  the  arriving  vessel  is 

27 


The  "Maine" 

promptly  despatched  to  acknowledge  the  visit  and 
to  express  the  thanks  of  his  commanding  officer. 
The  next  step,  in  respect  to  visits,  is  for  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  arriving  vessel  to  call  on  the 
commanding  officers  of  and  above  his  own  rank  in 
the  navy  of  the  nation  to  which  the  port  belongs. 
These  visits  must  be  returned,  by  convention, 
within  twenty-four  hours.  It  is  also  customary 
to  visit  the  highest  civil  officer  and  the  highest 
military  officer.  By  these  forms  of  naval  cere- 
mony, I  was  required  to  make  visits  at  Havana 
to  the  captain-general  (who  is  also  governor- 
general),  the  Spanish  admiral  in  charge  of  the 
station,  the  captain  of  the  port,  and  the  captain 
of  the  Alfonso  XII.  Visits  are  also  exchanged 
in  the  United  States  service  between  the  captain 
of  an  arriving  man-of-war  and  the  consular  rep- 
resentative of  the  United  States.  General  Fitz- 
hugh  Lee,  as  consul-general,  was  entitled  to  the 
first  visit. 

In  command  of  the  Maine  at  Havana,  I  had 
but  one  wish,  which  was  to  be  friendly  to  the 
Spanish  authorities,  as  required  by  my  orders.  I 
took  pleasure  in  carrying  out  my  orders  in  this 
respect,  and  sacrificed  every  personal  inclination 
and  promise  of  pleasure  that  might  have  inter- 
fered. The  first  Spanish  officer  to  come  on  board 
was  a  naval  lieutenant  who  represented  the  cap- 

28 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

tain  of  the  port.  His  bearing  was  both  dignified 
and  polite  (which,  by  the  way,  is  invariably  the 
rule  with  Spanish  naval  officers),  but  I  thought 
he  looked  embarrassed  and  even  humiliated  in 
carrying  out  his  duty.  I  greatly  regretted  that 
such  should  be  the  case,  and  did  all  that  I  could  to 
make  him  feel  at  ease.  After  the  arrival  of  a  sec- 
ond Spanish  lieutenant,  who  seemed  to  take  mat- 
ters more  philosophically,  and  of  a  German  naval 
lieutenant,  the  naval  officer  who  had  arrived  first 
appeared  to  lose  his  embarrassment.  I  made  all 
the  visits  required  of  me  by  usage,  and  was  every- 
where received  with  courtesy.  It  is  hardly  to  the 
point  whether  there  was  any  great  amount  of  ac- 
tual friendliness  for  us  beneath  the  surface.  The 
Spanish  officials  on  every  hand  gave  us  absolutely 
all  the  official  courtesy  to  which  we  were  entitled 
by  usage,  and  they  gave  it  with  the  grace  of  man- 
ner which  is  characteristic  of  their  nation.  I  ac- 
cepted it  as  genuine. 

It  is  not  essential  to  enter  here  into  the  details 
of  usage  in  connection  with  gun  salutes.  It  is 
enough  to  say  that  convention  required  the  Maine 
to  salute  the  Spanish  national  flag,  and  also  to 
salute  Admiral  Manterola.  But  such  salutes  are 
given  only  when  it  is  known  that  they  will  be  re- 
turned. I  therefore  deemed  it  prudent  to  deter- 
mine this  point,  although  the  visit  of  a  Spanish 

29 


The  "  Maine  " 

officer  to  the  ship  would  ordinarily  be  thought 
sufficiently  convincing.  In  the  course  of  conver- 
sation with  the  Spanish  naval  officer  who  was  the 
first  to  visit  the  Maine,  I  said  :  "I  am  about  to 
give  myself  the  honor  of  saluting  your  national 
flag;  from  which  battery  will  the  salute  be  re- 
turned?" He  replied:  "From  the  Cabana." 
With  that  assurance,  both  salutes  were  fired  and 
returned.  The  salute  to  the  Spanish  admiral  was 
returned  by  his  flagship,  the  Alfonso  XII. 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  Maine,  I  sent 
my  aid,  Naval  Cadet  J.  H.  H olden,  ashore  to 
report  to  General  Lee,  and  announce  that  I 
would  soon  follow.  I  gave  orders  that  no  offi- 
cers or  men  of  the  vessel  should  go  ashore,  unless 
by  my  express  order.  It  was  desired  first  to  test 
public  feeling,  private  and  official,  with  reference 
to  the  Maine  s  visit.  My  visit  to  Admiral  Man- 
terola  was  made  in  full  dress,  with  cocked  hat, 
epaulets,  etc.  I  landed  at  the  Machina,  the  man- 
of-war  landing,  which  is  virtually  at  the  Spanish 
admiral's  residence.  There  was  a  crowd  assem- 
bled, but  only  of  moderate  size.  There  was  no 
demonstration  of  any  kind ;  the  crowd  closed  in 
about  me  slightly.  I  thought  the  people  stolid 
and  sullen,  so  far  as  I  could  gather  from  an  occa- 
sional glance,  but  I  took  very  little  notice  of  any- 
body. On  my  return,  however,  I  noted  carefully 

30 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

the  bearing  of  the  various  groups  of  Spanish  sol- 
diers that  I  passed.  They  saluted  me,  as  a  rule, 
but  with  so  much  expression  of  apathy  that  the 
salute  really  went  for  nothing.  Some  members 
of  a  group  would  salute,  while  others  would  not. 
They  made  no  demonstration  against  me,  how- 
ever, not  even  by  look. 

The  same  day  I  made  my  visit  to  General  Lee, 
and  arranged  with  him  for  my  visit  to  the  acting 
captain-  and  governor-general,  who  at  that  time 
was  General  Parrado,  Cap  tain- General  Blanco 
being  absent  on  a  tour  of  the  island.  It  is  cus- 
tomary in  the  case  of  high  officials  to  make  the 
visit  at  an  appointed  time.  When  I  made  my 
visit,  on  January  27,  accompanied  by  General 
Lee,  there  seemed  at  first  to  be  a  probability  of 
embarrassment.  We  called  at  the  palace  of  Gen- 
eral Blanco  at  the  appointed  time,  and  apparently 
nobody  there  knew  anything  about  our  appoint- 
ment. The  ever-present  American  newspaper- 
man relieved  the  situation  ;  he  ascertained  that 
General  Parrado  was  in  a  residence  across  the 
way,  where  he  was  expecting  us.  We  promptly 
repaired  the  mistake,  and  were  received  by  Gen- 
eral Parrado  with  great  courtesy.  He  had  a 
table  spread  with  refreshments  for  our  benefit. 
All  of  my  official  visits  were  returned  promptly. 
General  Parrado  returned  my  visit  in  person, 

31 


The  "  Maine" 

and  was  given  the  salute  of  a  captain-  and  gov- 
ernor-general ;  that  is  to  say,  of  the  governor 
of  a  colony  —  seventeen  guns,  the  same  salute 
which  is  prescribed  for  the  governor  of  one  of  the 
United  States. 

All  visits  were  made  without  friction  and  with 
courtesy  on  both  sides,  and  apparently  with  all 
the  freedom  of  conversation  and  action  usually 
observed.  I  showed  General  Parrado  through 
the  Maine,  and  he  seemed  much  pleased. 

It  had  been  announced  in  the  local  newspapers 
that  there  would  be  a  series  of  bull-fights  in 
Havana,  in  which  would  appear  Mazzantini,  the 
famous  "  gentleman  bull-fighter  of  Spain."  I 
had  decided  to  go  to  a  bull-fight,  notwithstand- 
ing the  day  of  its  celebration  was  Sunday.  I 
was  anxious  to  know  from  my  own  observation 
the  true  feeling  of  the  people  of  Havana  toward 
the  Maine.  Learning  that  the  common  people 
were  likely  to  be  greatly  excited  at  the  bull-fight, 
I  decided  that  my  presence  there  would  afford 
the  very  best  opportunity  for  my  purpose.  I  told 
General  Parrado  of  my  intention,  and  he  at  once 
offered  me  a  box.  I  declined  the  offer,  saying 
that  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Maine  and  I 
would  go  simply  as  ordinary  observers.  How- 
ever, within  a  day  or  two,  General  Parrado  sent 
me  tickets  for  a  box,  which  was  an  act  of  kind- 

32 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

ness  greatly  appreciated  by  us.  Later  he  sent  a 
case  of  fine  sherry  to  the  officers  of  the  Maine. 
The  Maine  had  been  for  so  long  away  from  our 
large  cities  that  I  lacked  anything  distinctly 
American  that  would  have  been  appropriate  to 
give  to  General  Parrado  to  express  in  a  recipro- 
cal way  our  appreciation  of  his  gift,  so  I  sent 
him,  with  the  best  of  good  wishes,  a  copy  of 
my  own  work  on  "  Deep-Sea  Sounding  and 
Dredging,"  published  by  the  United  States  Coast 
Survey  in  1880. 

On  the  first  Sunday  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Maine  at  Havana,  General  Lee  gave  a  luncheon- 
party  to  the  officers  of  the  ship,  at  the  Havana 
Yacht- Club  at  Marianao,  a  place  on  the  sea-shore, 
about  eight  miles  west  of  Havana.  There  we 
met  some  Cuban  gentlemen,  one  or  two  members 
of  foreign  consulates,  and  a  number  of  press  cor- 
respondents. In  going  there  I  was  taken  by  the 
sea  route,  in  a  small  steam-launch  owned  by  one 
of  the  Cuban  gentlemen.  We  went  close  along- 
shore, past  all  the  batteries  west  of  the  entrance. 
There  was  no  impropriety  in  this,  because  one 
could  see  the  batteries  to  better  advantage  merely 
by  driving  along  one  of  the  most  frequented 
driveways  of  the  city.  At  Marianao  there  was  a 
small  Spanish  garrison.  Sentries  were  posted 
at  various  places,  and  at  one  time,  I  believe,  they 

33 


The  "  Maine  " 

had  occupied  the  roof  of  the  club-house.  There 
was  no  excitement  or  even  special  interest  shown 
by  the  soldiers  at  the  appearance  there  of  United 
States  officers.  The  entertainment  passed  off 
very  pleasantly.  General  Lee  toasted  the  naval 
party,  and  we  toasted  General  Lee.  Short  com- 
plimentary speeches  were  made  on  each  side. 

The  box  at  the  bull-fight  which  had  been  pro- 
vided us  by  the  courtesy  of  General  Parrado 
contained  six  seats.  I  reserved  one  ticket  for 
General  Lee,  one  for  Naval  Cadet  H  olden,  and 
one  for  myself.  The  other  three  I  sent  to  the 
ward-room  and  the  junior  officers'  mess,  to  be 
chosen  by  lot.  The  party,  therefore,  consisted  of 
six  people.  We  returned  to  Havana  from  the 
yacht-club  by  train,  and  could  not  help  remark- 
ing the  suitability  of  the  country  for  guerrilla 
warfare.  While  we  were  yet  in  the  train,  an 
American  gentleman  discussed  with  us  the  pro- 
priety of  going  to  the  bull-fight.  He  explained 
that  the  common  people  on  such  occasions  were 
generally  greatly  excited,  and  as  our  visit  to 
Havana  was  not  well  regarded  by  the  populace, 
there  was  a  probability  that  one  single  cry 
against  us  might  set  the  audience  aflame.  I  be- 
lieved that  it  was  inconsistent  with  the  friendly 
visit  of  the  Maine  that  her  officers  should  not  be 
accorded  the  same  freedom  of  appearance  and 

34 


LUNCHEON  GIVEN   AT  THE  HAVANA  YACHT  CLUB  AT  11  A.  M.,  JANUAKY  30, 
BY  UNITED  STATES  CONSUL-GENERAL   F1TZHUGH   LEE,   TO  THE 
CAPTAIN   AND  OFFICERS  OF  THE  U.  S.  S.  "MAINE." 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

action  that  was  permitted  to  officers  of  other  na- 
vies, therefore  I  reasserted  our  intention  to  go. 
Our  friend  said:  "Well,  if  they  will  allow  you 
there,  they  will  allow  you  anywhere." 

As  we  emerged  from  the  train  and  passed  out 
of  the  station  on  our  arrival  at  Havana,  I  was 
handed  by  somebody  (I  think  by  one  of  the  news- 
paper correspondents)  the  bellicose  circular  which 
has  since  been  published  in  the  newspapers.  It 
was  a  small  printed  sheet  containing  a  protest  to 
the  public  against  submission  to  a  visit  from  the 
Maine,  and,  translated,  reads  as  follows : 

SPANIARDS ! 

LONG   LIVE    SPAIN   WITH    HONOR! 

What  are  you  doing  that  you  allow  yourselves  to  be  insulted 
in  this  way  ?  Do  you  not  see  what  they  have  done  to  us  in 
withdrawing  our  brave  and  beloved  Weyler,  who  at  this  very 
time  would  have  finished  with  this  unworthy,  rebellious  rabble 
who  are  trampling  on  our  flag  and  on  our  honor  ? 

Autonomy  is  imposed  on  us  to  cast  us  aside  and  give  places 
of  honor  and  authority  to  those  who  initiated  this  rebellion, 
these  low-bred  autonomists,  ungrateful  sons  of  our  beloved 
country ! 

And,  finally,  these  Yankee  pigs  who  meddle  in  our  affairs, 
humiliating  us  to  the  last  degree,  and,  for  a  still  greater  taunt, 
order  to  us  a  man-of-war  of  their  rotten  squadron,  after  insult- 
ing us  in  their  newspapers  with  articles  sent  from  our  own 
home! 

Spaniards !  the  moment  of  action  has  arrived.     Do  not  go 

35 


jEspanoles! 

{VIVA  ESPANA  CON  HONRA! 


jQue"  haceis  que  os  dejais  insultar  de  esa  manera?  ^No 
veis  lo  quo  nos  ban  becho  retirando  d  nuestro  valiente  y 
qucrido  "Weyler,  que  d  estas  hoi  as  ya  hubi£rumos  acabado 
COD  esta  indigua  canalla  insurrecta  que  pisotea  nuestra 
bandera  y  nuestro  honor? 

Nos  imponen  la  Autonomia  para  echnrnos  &  un  In  do  y 
dar  los  puestos  de  honor  y  mando  d  aquellos  que  iniciaron 
rsta  rebelion,  cstos  mal  nacidos  autonomistas,  hijos  ingratos 
de  nuestra  querida  patria! 

Y  por  ultimo,  estos  cochinos  yankees  que  se  mezclnn 
en  nuestros  asuntos>  humilla'ndonos  hasta  el  dltimo  grado,  y 
para  mtis  vejdmen  nos  mandan  uno  de  los  bnrcos  de  guerra 
de  su  podridn  escuadra.  despues  de  insultai-nos  en  sus 
diarios  y  desde  uuestra  casa! 

Espanoles!  Lleg6  el  momento  de  accion,  no  dormiteis! 
Ensenemos  A  esos  viles  traidores  que  todavia  no  hemos 
perdido  la  verguenza  y  que  sabemos  protestar  con  la  energfa 
que  corresponde  a  una  nacion  digna  y  fuerte  como  ea  y 
sierapre  serd  nuestra  Espafia! 

Mueran  los  americnnos!     Muera  la  Autonomfn! 

Viva  Espa^a!     Viva  Weyler! 

FACSIMILE  OF  THE  CIECULAE   IIANDKD  TO  CAPTAIN  8IO8BEE  ON  HIS 
WAY  TO  THE  BULL-FIGHT  AND   LATER  SENT  TO  HIM 
THEOUQH   THE  HAVANA  POST-OFFICE. 

The  words  underscored,  with  the  hand  pointing  to  them,  mean  "  rotten  squadron." 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

to  sleep !  Let  us  teach  these  vile  traitors  that  we  have  not  yet 
lost  our  pride,  and  that  we  know  how  to  protest  with  the 
energy  befitting  a  nation  worthy  and  strong,  as  our  Spain  is, 
and  always  will  be ! 

Death  to  the  Americans  !     Death  to  autonomy ! 

Long  live  Spain !     Long  live  Weyler ! 

I  put  it  in  my  pocket,  and  we  went  to  the  bull- 
fight by  means  of  the  ferry  plying  between  Ha- 
vana and  Regla.  I  have  been  asked  many  times 
what  I  thought  of  the  circular.  At  the  time  I 
thought  it  of  no  importance  whatever,  and  I  have 
not  changed  my  opinion.  It  could  only  have 
been  the  screaming  appeal  of  some  bigoted  and 
impotent  patriot.  When  a  would-be  conspirator 
finds  it  necessary  thus  to  go  out  into  the  public 
streets  and  beg  anonymously  for  assistance,  he 
demonstrates  that  he  is  without  friends  of  execu- 
tive spirit  Circulars  of  that  kind  are  not  un- 
common in  Havana.  General  Lee  received  them 
frequently.  In  his  case,  the  date  was  generally 
set  for  his  destruction.  He  gave  himself  no  con- 
cern over  them,  but  let  it  be  known  generally  that 
any  one  attempting  to  injure  him  bodily  would  be 
treated  very  summarily  by  himself.  His  poise 
in  matters  of  that  kind  made  murderous  bulletins 
positively  humorous. 

There  had  formerly  been  a  bull-ring  in  Ha- 
vana, a  well-appointed  one,  but  for  some  reason 

37 


The  "  Maine" 

it  was  closed,  and  the  smaller  ring  at  Regla, 
across  the  bay  from  Havana,  had  taken  its  place. 
When  we  arrived  at  the  ring,  we  found  that  our 
box  was  high  up  above  the  rows  of  seats,  and 
close  to  the  box  occupied  by  General  Parrado, 
who  was  the  presiding  official  at  the  sport  on 
that  day.  Members  of  his  staff  were  with  him. 
Stationed  at  intervals  throughout  the  audience 
were  individual  soldiers,  under  arms,  and  there 
were  about  twenty  assembled  in  the  seat  directly 
in  front  of  our  box.  General  Parrado  bowed  to  me 
pleasantly,  but  I  thought  that  he  and  the  officers 
about  him  were  not  entirely  free  from  embarrass- 
ment because  of  our  presence.  General  Parrado 
was  always  especially  kind  in  his  intercourse  with 
me.  I  felt  very  friendly  toward  him.  Occasionally, 
on  looking  up  suddenly,  I  detected  glances  at  me, 
on  one  side  or  another,  that  were  far  from  friendly. 
That  was  to  have  been  expected;  but  on  the  whole 
the  forbearance  of  the  audience  was  remarkable 
and  commendable. 

Six  bulls  were  killed  during  the  day.  Our 
party  arrived  as  the  first  one  was  being  hauled 
away  dead.  After  the  fifth  bull  had  been  des- 
patched, it  was  decided,  as  a  considerate 
measure  in  favor  of  General  Parrado,  that  we 
should  leave  the  building  and  return  to  Havana 
early,  so  as  to  avoid  the  crowd.  We  therefore 

38 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

left  very  quietly,  just  before  the  sixth  bull  entered 
the  ring.  We  tried  to  reach  the  ferry  promptly, 
so  that  we  might  return  to  Havana  on  a  steamer 
having  but  few  passengers.  Three  members  of 
our  party  were  successful  in  this  attempt;  but 
General  Lee,  Lieutenant  Holman,  and  I  failed. 
On  our  arrival,  a  steamer  had  just  left  the  land- 
ing. We  then  hailed  a  small  passenger-boat,  and 
were  pulled  to  the  Maine.  While  General  Lee 
and  I  were  conversing  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the 
Maine,  a  ferry-boat  came  across  the  bay,  carrying 
back  to  Havana  a  large  number  of  people  from 
the  audience.  There  was  no  demonstration  of 
any  kind.  The  passengers  were  doubtless  those 
who  had  left  early,  hoping,  like  ourselves,  to  avoid 
the  crowd.  The  next  ferry-boat  was  densely 
crowded.  Among  the  passengers  were  a  number 
of  officers  of  the  Spanish  army  and  of  the  volun- 
teers. As  the  ferry-boat  passed  the  Maine  there 
were  derisive  calls  and  whistles.  Apparently  not 
more  than  fifty  people  participated  in  that  dem- 
onstration. It  was  not  general,  and  might  have 
occurred  anywhere.  I  have  never  believed  that 
the  Spanish  officers  or  soldiers  took  part.  It  is 
but  fair  to  say  that  this  was  the  only  demonstra- 
tion of  any  kind  made  against  the  Maine  or  her 
officers,  either  collectively  or  individually,  so  far 
as  was  made  known  to  me,  during  our  visit. 

39 


The  "  Maine" 

Adverse  feeling  toward  us  was  shown  by  the 
apathetic  bearing  of  soldiers  when  they  saluted, 
or  of  tradesmen  when  they  supplied  our  needs. 
After  the  Maine  had  been  sunk,  and  when  the 
Montgomery  and  the  Fern  were  in  Havana, 
Spanish  passenger-boatmen  exhibited  bad  tem- 
per by  withholding  or  delaying  answers  to  our 
hails  at  night.  The  failure  of  the  Spanish  author- 
ities to  compel  the  boatmen  to  answer  our  hails 
impressed  me  as  being  very  closely  akin  to  active 
unfriendliness.  It  was  at  the  time  when  the  Viz- 
caya  and  the  Oquendo  were  in  Havana,  using 
picket-boats  and  occasionally  search -lights  at 
night,  apparently  to  safeguard  themselves.  Hails 
were  made  sharply  and  answered  promptly  be- 
tween the  Spanish  men-of-war  and  the  boats 
constantly  plying  about  the  harbor  at  night.  It 
must  have  been  plain  on  board  the  Spanish  men- 
of-war  that  the  boatmen  were  trifling  with  us. 
This  was  after  the  Vizcaya  had  visited  New  York. 

The  feeling  of  moral  responsibility  in  the 
United  States  for  the  safety  of  the  visiting  Span- 
ish cruiser,  as  against  a  belief  that  she  would  be 
molested,  is  exemplified  in  Appendix  B,  which 
contains  an  extract  from  the  New  York  "  Herald  " 
of  February  19,  1898. 

I  have  been  taken  to  task  on  some  sides  in  the 
United  States  for  going  to  a  bull-fight  on  Sun- 

40 


CAPTAIN  8IG8BEE,  GENERAL  FITZHUGU   LEE,  SEVERAL  OFFICERS  OF  THE 
"MAINE,"  AND  CIVILIANS  AT  THE  HAVANA  TACHT-CLDB. 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

day.  Perhaps  I  should  confess  that  I  attended 
two  bull-fights  in  Havana,  on  successive  Sun- 
days, that  being  the  only  day,  I  believe,  on  which 
bull-fights  take  place.  On  the  second  occasion 
I  went  with  an  American  friend  and  a  party  of 
Cuban  gentlemen  who  stood  well  with  the  Span- 
iards. This  visit  was  neither  attended  nor  fol- 
lowed by  any  demonstration  unfavorable  to 
Americans  or  the  Maine.  We  entered,  re- 
mained, and  left  quite  in  the  usual  way.  Two 
bull-fights  exhausted  all  interest  that  I  felt  to  see 
that  historic  sport.  The  love  for  domestic  ani- 
mals which  is  part  of  an  American's  nature  —  in- 
grained from  babyhood  —  revolts  at  the  sight  of 
a  poor,  non-combatant  horse  calmly  obeying  the 
bridle  while  his  entrails  are  streaming  from  him. 
To  comprehend  the  Spanish  bull-fight,  it  should 
be  considered  as  a  savage  sport  passed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  from  a  remote 
period  when  human  nature  was  far  more  cruel 
than  at  present.  If  the  sport  had  not  so  devel- 
oped, it  is  a  fair  inference  that  it  could  not  now 
be  instituted  or  tolerated.  Similar  considerations 
might  be  thought  to  apply  to  our  own  prize- 
fights ;  but  the  highest  class  of  people  habitually 
attends  bull -fights,  while  this  is  not  true  of  prize- 
fights. During  the  progress  of  the  last  bull-fight 
that  I  attended;  several  poor,  docile,  passive  horses 

41 


The  "Maine" 

were  killed  under  circumstances  that  were  shock- 
ing to  the  American  mind.  In  a  box  near  that 
which  my  friends  and  I  occupied,  a  little  girl  ten 
or  twelve  years  of  age  sat  apparently  unmoved 
while  a  horse  was  prostrate  and  dying  in  pro- 
longed agony  near  the  middle  of  the  ring. 

As  to  the  circular  that  was  given  to  me  before 
going  to  the  first  bull-fight,  it  may  be  stated  that 
I  received  a  second  copy  through  the  Havana 
mail.  The  second  copy  was  probably  sent  by 
some  American  who  judged  it  to  be  important. 
I  sent  it  home,  and  afterward  it  was  reproduced 
in  the  newspapers.  It  is  reproduced  here.  I 
think  General  Lee  sent  a  copy  of  that  circular 
to  the  secretary-general  of  Cuba,  Dr.  Congosto. 
There  was  nothing  to  do  in  respect  to  the  circu- 
lar, even  though  I  had  believed  it  an  influential 
attempt  to  foment  disturbance.  Every  precau- 
tion that  could  be  taken  against  injury  or  treach- 
ery was  taken  on  board  the  Maine,  so  far  as 
could  be  permitted  under  the  restrictions  of  my 
orders  requiring  me  to  make  a  friendly  visit.  If 
one,  when  dining  with  a  friend  at  his  home,  were  to 
test  the  dishes  for  poison,  he  would  not  be  mak- 
ing a  friendly  visit.  The  harbor  could  not  be 
dragged  without  giving  offense ;  it  could  not  be 
patrolled  by  our  own  picket-boats  at  night,  nor 
could  the  search-lights  be  kept  going :  but  every 

42 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

internal  precaution  was  exercised  that  the  situa- 
tion suggested.  There  were  sentries  on  the 
forecastle  and  poop,  quartermaster  and  signal- 
boy  on  the  bridge,  and  a  second  signal-boy  on 
the  poop,  all  of  whom  were  charged  with  the  ne- 
cessity for  a  careful  lookout.  The  corporal  of 
the  guard  was  specially  instructed  as  to  the  port 
gangway,  and  the  officer  of  the  deck  and  the 
quartermaster  as  to  the  starboard  gangway. 

Instead  of  the  usual  anchor-watch,  a  quarter- 
watch  was  kept  on  deck  at  night.  The  sentries 
were  supplied  with  ammunition  ;  a  number  of 
rounds  of  rapid-fire  ammunition  were  kept  in  the 
pilot-house  and  in  the  spare  captain's  pantry 
inside  the  after-superstructure.  An  additional 
supply  of  shells  was  kept  at  hand  for  the  six-inch 
guns.  In  order  to  be  prepared  more  completely 
to  work  the  hydraulic  mechanism  of  the  turrets, 
steam  was  kept  up  on  two  boilers  instead  of  one  ; 
special  instructions  were  given  to  watch  all  the 
details  of  the  hydraulic  gear  and  to  report  de- 
fects. The  officer  of  the  deck  was  charged  by 
me  to  make  detailed  reports,  even  in  minor  mat- 
ters, acting  on  the  suspicion  that  we  might  be 
in  an  unfriendly  harbor.  I  personally  instructed 
the  master-at-arms  and  the  orderly  sergeant  to 
keep  a  careful  eye  on  every  visitor  that  came  on 
board,  and  to  charge  their  own  subordinates  to 

43 


The  "  Maine  " 

the  same  purpose.  I  instructed  them  to  follow 
visitors  about  at  a  proper  distance  whenever  the 
ship  was  visited  below;  they  were  carefully  to 
watch  for  any  packages  that  might  be  laid  down 
or  left  by  visitors,  on  the  supposition  that  dyna- 
mite or  other  high  explosives  might  be  used. 
They  were  also  required  to  inspect  the  routes 
over  which  visitors  had  passed.  The  officer  in 
charge  of  the  marine  guard  was  required  to  make 
at  least  two  visits  during  the  night  to  the  various 
posts  of  the  vessel.  The  dipping  lines  or  hog- 
ging-lines of  the  collision  mat  —  a  large  mat  to 
haul  over  holes,  under  water,  in  the  hull  —  were 
rove  and  kept  standing.  The  purport  of  my  own 
orders  and  instructions  was  that  we  should  con- 
sider the  Maine  in  a  position  demanding  extreme 
vigilance,  and  requiring  a  well-sustained  routine 
both  by  day  and  by  night. 

Until  the  night  of  the  explosion  nothing  what- 
ever was  developed  to  show  that  there  was  any 
special  need  for  extreme  vigilance.  Many  peo- 
ple visited  the  ship,  chiefly  in  parties.  It  is 
probable  that  nearly  all  were  Cubans.  These 
were  chiefly  representatives  of  the  refined  class 
in  Havana,  who  took  great  pride  in  visiting  the 
ship  —  more,  perhaps,  than  I  could  have  wished, 
in  view  of  the  situation.  There  must  have  been 
three  or  four  hundred  of  them  on  board  from 

44 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

time  to  time.  They  were  warmly  demonstrative 
toward  us,  and  at  first  were  inclined  to  ask  us  to 
return  their  visits.  I  believe  some  of  the  Maine's 
officers  took  advantage  of  their  invitations ;  but 
I  always  explained  that  my  position  in  Havana 
was  a  delicate  one,  that  I  desired  to  know  socially 
both  the  Spaniards  and  the  Cubans,  but  that  I 
should  not  feel  free  to  accept  hospitalities  from 
Cubans  until  the  Spanish  people  first  showed  a 
willingness  to  accept  the  hospitalities  of  the  ship. 
I  often  made  inquiries  in  a  rather  jocular  way  as 
to  the  politics  of  the  ladies  who  visited  the  ship. 
The  ladies  pointed  out  to  me  visitors  of  different 
shades  of  opinion,  but  I  have  my  doubts  whether 
any  of  them  were  really  in  sympathy  with  the 
Spaniards.  I  let  it  be  known  everywhere  that  it 
would  please  me  greatly  to  entertain  the  Spanish 
people  on  board,  and  made  considerable  effort  to 
bring  about  the  desired  result,  but  without  suc- 
cess. It  was  evident  that  the  Spaniards  would 
not  visit  us  socially ;  they  would  do  their  official 
duty,  but  would  not  go  beyond  it. 

I  finally  decided  to  make  a  very  special  effort. 
I  knew  two  charming  young  Spanish  ladies  of 
American  descent  on  their  mother's  side.  Both 
were  engaged  to  be  married  to  Spanish  army 
officers.  Their  father  had  been  a  Spanish  offi- 
cer. All  their  associations  had  been  in  Spanish 

45 


The  "Maine" 

military  circles.  They  assured  me  that  it  was  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  Spaniards  would  not 
visit  us  in  a  friendly  way.  To  demonstrate  their 
view,  they  offered  to  bring  aboard  the  Maine,  on 
a  certain  day,  a  party  of  Spanish  officers.  The 
ladies  came  at  the  appointed  time,  their  mother 
being  one  of  the  party ;  but  with  them  there  was 
only  one  Spanish  officer,  and  he  was  in  what  we 
might  call  a  civil  branch  of  the  army.  Each  lady 
gave  a  somewhat  different  excuse  for  the  absence 
of  the  officers,  which  only  served  to  make  it  clear 
that  the  officers  would  not  come  at  all,  and  that 
there  was  a  general  understanding  that  the  ship 
should  not  be  visited  by  Spanish  officers,  except 
officially. 

I  then  believed  that  I  had  made  all  the  effort 
that  was  proper  to  put  the  visit  of  the  Maine  on 
a  friendly  plane  socially.  I  made  no  effort  there- 
after beyond  continuing  to  make  it  known  in  a 
general  way  that  Spaniards  would  be  welcomed. 
For  about  two  days  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Maine,  her  officers  were  not  permitted  to  go 
ashore ;  after  that  they  went  freely,  day  and 
night.  During  the  whole  visit  the  crew  remained 
on  board,  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional 
visit  to  the  shore,  on  duty,  by  some  well-trusted 
petty  officer.  I  regretted  very  much  to  retain 
the  crew  on  board,  because  it  had  been  my  cus- 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

torn  to  give  liberty  freely  before  visiting  Havana. 
Even  the  bumboatmen  did  not  seem  to  care 
especially  for  the  custom  of  the  men,  doubtless 
because  of  the  undercurrent  of  feeling  against 
us.  The  crew  never  complained  —  not  in  a  sin- 
gle instance  that  I  am  aware  of;  they  took  the 
situation  philosophically.  I  myself  drove  through 
the  streets  of  Havana,  day  or  night,  entirely 
alone,  just  as  I  liked,  without  hindrance  of  any 
kind.  To  all  outward  appearance  Havana  was 
as  orderly  a  city  as  I  have  ever  seen. 

It  was  impossible  to  be  at  Havana  without 
hearing  much  about  reconcentrados.  I  never 
spoke  of  them  to  Spanish  officials,  but  at  differ- 
ent times  conversed  with  non-military  Spaniards 
on  the  subject.  To  my  surprise,  they  were  per- 
fectly frank  and  outspoken  in  their  admissions  of 
the  terrible  suffering  and  death  that  had  been 
wrought.  The  statistics  that  they  gave  me  were 
not  diminished  as  compared  with  those  received 
from  the  Cubans;  in  fact,  their  figures  were 
higher  as  a  rule ;  but  there  was  this  difference : 
the  Cubans  placed  the  blame  upon  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  Spaniards  upon  the  Cubans.  A  Spanish 
lady,  in  speaking  of  General  Weyler  in  connec- 
tion with  the  reconcentrados,  said  of  him  that  he 
was  not  a  man  of  sentiment,  but  cold  by  nature, 
a  soldier  with  a  stern  sense  of  duty. 

47 


The  "Maine" 

Prior  to  the  destruction  of  the  Maine,  I  was 
unwittingly  involved  in  one  case  of  official  fric- 
tion. According  to  precedents,  I  was  entirely  in 
the  right.  The  autonomistic  government  of 
Cuba  had  been  established  by  General  Blanco. 
The  members  of  the  government  were  much- 
respected  gentlemen  of  the  island.  As  captain  of 
the  Maine,  I  was  not  expected  to  show  any  po- 
litical preference,  but  it  was  my  duty  to  preserve 
good  relations  with  the  government  as  it  existed. 
In  visiting  the  captain-general,  who,  as  already 
stated,  is  also  the  governor-general,  and  the 
naval  authorities,  I  thought  I  had  fulfilled  all  the 
courtesies  required  by  usage;  therefore  it  had 
not  occurred  to  me  to  visit  the  civil  members  of 
the  autonomistic  council.  In  my  cruises  about 
the  West  Indies,  I  had  made  visits  to  colonial  gov- 
ernors and  to  the  naval  and  military  authorities; 
but  it  had  never  been  expected  of  me  to  visit  the 
members  of  the  legislative  council  of  a  British 
colony.  I  was  therefore  greatly  surprised  to  find 
that  it  had  been  reported  to  the  United  States 
government  in  Washington  that  I  had  failed  to 
visit  the  members  of  the  autonomistic  council.  I 
received  several  telegrams  from  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment referring  to  the  matter.  The  despatches  may 
not  have  been  clearly  deciphered  on  board  the 
Maine,  but  I  did  not  gather  from  them  that  I 

48 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

was  required  to  make  a  visit  to  those  officials.  I 
hesitated  to  act  without  decisive  orders  after  the 
matter  had  been  carried  to  the  government  at 
Washington.  Finally,  I  thought  that  I  could 
detect  in  the  telegrams  a  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  Navy  Department  that  I  should,  of  my  own 
volition,  make  the  visit. 

General  Blanco  had  then  returned  to  Havana, 
where  he  resumed  his  custom  of  giving  recep- 
tions to  gentlemen  on  a  certain  night  in  each 
week.  General  Lee  had  made  an  appointment 
for  me  to  visit  General  Blanco  officially  the  next 
day,  and  I  took  advantage  of  the  reception  to 
promote  good  feeling.  In  civilian's  evening 
dress,  I  attended  General  Blanco's  reception 
with  General  Lee,  and  took  pleasure  in  the  act. 
I  said  to  General  Blanco  that  I  attended  his  re- 
ception that  evening  informally,  and  that  I  would 
come  officially  the  following  day,  according  to 
appointment.  General  Blanco  is  a  fine  type  of 
the  Spanish  gentleman — a  man  of  distinguished 
bearing  and  address.  I  remarked  to  General 
Lee  that  the  captain-general  might  pass  for  a 
very  benevolent  United  States  senator.  This 
was  a  double-edged  compliment,  intended  to  cut 
favorably  in  both  directions.  At  the  reception 
and  on  all  other  occasions  General  Blanco  re- 
ceived me  most  kindly. 

49 


The  "  Maine" 

Soon  after  our  arrival  at  the  reception,  Gen- 
eral Lee  introduced  me  to  Dr.  Congosto,  the  sec- 
retary-general of  Cuba.  Dr.  Congosto  immedi- 
ately said :  "  May  I  introduce  you  to  the  members 
of  the  autonomistic  council  ?  "  I  replied  that  the 
introduction  would  give  me  great  pleasure,  and 
that  I  should  gladly  have  acted  on  an  earlier  in- 
vitation. I  was  then  introduced  to  several  mem- 
bers of  the  council,  including  Senor  Galvaez,  the 
president.  All  were  men  that  one  would  feel 
honored  to  meet,  whether  officially  or  privately. 
I  thought  I  had  a  right  to  speak  plainly,  be- 
cause I  had  been  put  in  a  false  position.  I  in- 
formed the  gentlemen  that  there  had  been  no 
time  since  my  visit  to  Havana  when  I  should  not 
have  given  myself  the  honor  of  visiting  them  im- 
mediately had  I  received  an  intimation  that  a  visit 
would  be  agreeable.  I  stated  that  I  had  not 
made  a  visit  because  no  precedent  for  it  in  naval 
etiquette  was  known  to  me,  and  that  visits  to  civil 
officials  on  shore,  if  in  excess  of  usage,  might  not  be 
taken  kindly,  because  a  return  visit  afloat  might 
be  inconvenient.  I  expressed  the  pleasure  that  I 
should  take  in  going  as  far  beyond  precedent  as 
might  be  agreeable  to  them.  If  permitted,  I 
should  visit  the  council  officially  the  following 
day,  after  which  I  hoped  the  gentlemen  of  the 
council  would  visit  the  Maine  and  receive  a  salute. 

50 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

The  next  day,  with  General  Lee,  I  called  on 
General  Blanco  officially,  just  as  I  had  called  on 
General  Parrado  when  he  was  representing  Gen- 
eral Blanco.  I  admired  General  Blanco  as  a  man 
and  as  a  patriot,  and  desired  to  receive  him  on 
board  the  Maine  and  do  him  honor.  I  gave  him 
an  urgent  invitation,  stating  at  the  same  time  that  I 
knew  it  was  not  necessary  etiquette  for  him  to 
return  my  visit  personally.  He  seemed  pleased, 
and  remarked  pleasantly  that  there  was  a  decree 
against  captains-general  visiting  foreign  men-of- 
war,  for  the  reason  that  many  years  ago  a  cap  tain - 
general,  while  visiting  an  English  man-of-war,  had 
been  abducted.  I  replied  that  on  merely  perso- 
nal grounds  I  would  be  glad  to  run  away  with 
him, but  I  promised  good  behavior.  He  stated  that 
it  might  be  possible  to  make  a  visit — he  would 
think  it  over.  I  assured  General  Blanco  that  the 
visit  of  the  Maine  was  sincerely  friendly,  and  that 
my  orders  contemplated  nothing  further  than  the 
ordinary  visit  of  a  man-of-war.  He  expressed  his 
appreciation  of  my  commands  against  giving  lib- 
erty on  shore  to  the  Maine's  crew,  and  asked,  as 
had  other  officials,  how  long  the  Maine  would  re- 
main at  Havana.  To  this  question  I  always  made 
the  same  reply,  viz.,  that  when  our  war-vessels 
were  in  telegraphic  communication  with  the  Navy 
Department  it  was  not  customary  to  include  in 

51 


The  "Maine" 

their  orders  the  time  of  their  departure  from  a 
port ;  they  were  required  to  await  further  orders. 
I  repeated  to  General  Blanco  what  I  had  already 
said  to  General  Parrado,  that  I  hoped  the  Spanish 
men-of-war  would  reciprocate  by  reviving  their 
friendly  visits  to  the  United  States ;  that  the  cor- 
diality of  their  reception  could  not  be  doubted. 
An  exceptionally  pleasing  ceremonial  feature  ter- 
minates a  visit  to  Spanish  officials.  It  was  ob- 
served in  this  case.  After  taking  leave  in  the 
usual  way,  in  the  room  where  the  interview  was 
held,  General  Blanco  and  Dr.  Congosto  accom- 
panied us  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  the  civil- 
ities were  repeated.  There  they  remained  until 
we  had  reached  the  first  landing  below,  when  we 
turned,  and  the  visit  was  ended  by  mutual  saluta- 
tion. After  leaving  General  Blanco,  I  called  on 
the  members  of  the  council,  and  was  received 
with  cordiality.  I  think  the  members  of  the  au- 
tonomistic  government  had  really  felt  that  I  was 
trying  to  evade  a  visit.  I  was  glad  to  convince 
them  to  the  contrary.  It  was  well  known  to  the 
authorities  at  Havana  that  General  Lee  had  ex- 
pressed officially  an  unfavorable  opinion  as  to 
the  influence  and  acceptability  of  autonomy  in  the 
island,  and  they  were  keenly  sensitive  on  the  sub- 
ject. They  may  have  believed  that  I  was  trying 
to  weaken  autonomy ;  if  so,  an  invitation  to  visit 
the  council  would  have  made  a  test. 

52 


CAPTAIN-GENEBAL  RAMON   BLANCO. 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

The  gentlemen  of  the  council  returned  my  visit 
promptly.  They  were  received  with  honors,  and 
shown  through  the  Maine.  We  greatly  enjoyed 
their  visit.  Near  the  close,  refreshments  were 
served  in  my  cabin,  and  Senor  Galvaez  made  a 
complimentary  speech  in  Spanish,  which  was  in- 
terpreted to  me  briefly.  The  last  thing  that  I 
desired  was  to  involve  myself  in  the  politics  of  the 
island.  I  conceived  that  it  would  be  highly  in- 
judicious on  my  part,  as  a  foreign  naval  officer,  to 
seem  to  take  sides  in  any  way,  either  by  expres- 
sion or  by  action.  I  made  a  response  to  Senor 
Galvaez's  speech,  assuring  him  that  it  had  given 
me  much  gratification  to  make  my  visits  to  the 
council,  and  renewing  my  statement  that  I  should 
have  made  an  earlier  visit  had  I  known  that  it 
would  have  been  agreeable.  I  welcomed  them 
formally  to  the  ship,  and  expressed  the  hope  that 
they  would  return  with  their  families  and  friends, 
and  make  social  and  informal  visits  whenever  they 
thought  they  could  find  pleasure  on  board.  Be- 
lieving that  the  gentlemen  of  the  council  were 
desirous  that  I  should  give  some  expression  of 
approval  of  the  autonomistic  form  of  govern- 
ment, I  evaded  the  point,  and  said  only :  "  I  beg 
to  express  my  admiration  for  the  high  purpose  of 
your  honorable  body."  My  reply  was  afterward 
printed  in  at  least  two  newspapers  in  Havana, 
but  the  terms  made  me  favor  autonomistic  gov- 

53 


The  "Maine" 

ernment  for  the  island.  I  disliked  this  result 
when  I  considered  it  in  connection  with  the  cen- 
sorship, but  raised  no  protest  against  it.  Judg- 
ing from  outward  evidence,  the  autonomistic 
government  was  then  unpopular  and  without 
effective  influence,  as  reported  by  General  Lee. 
My  courtesy  to  the  members  of  the  council  could 
hardly  have  gained  popular  favor  for  the  Maine. 

The  next  day  the  families  and  friends  of  the 
members  of  the  council,  including  ladies,  came 
aboard,  and  were  received  by  me  and  the  officers. 
It  was  a  merry  party,  and  many  evidences  of 
good  will  were  given.  This  ended  the  only 
frictional  incident  prior  to  the  destruction  of  the 
Maine. 

While  lying  in  the  landlocked  harbor  of  Ha- 
vana, the  Maine  looked  much  larger  than  her 
actual  size;  she  seemed  enormous.  Doubtless 
her  strength  was  overestimated  by  the  populace 
of  Havana.  The  people  apparently  believed  that 
we  had  sent  our  best  ship  to  make  a  demonstra- 
tion. There  was  much  misconception  on  all 
sides,  even  among  Spanish  officers,  as  to  the 
fighting  strength  of  the  United  States  navy. 
Evidently  the  Spaniards  did  not  regard  us  as 
their  equals  in  battle  ;  their  traditional  pride  made 
them  overestimate  their  own  fighting  ability  — 
or  underestimate  ours.  On  the  other  hand,  to 

54 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

show  how  people  may  differ,  I  have  never  known 
it  to  be  entertained  in  our  own  service  that  the 
Spanish  navy  could  match  ours.  The  Spanish 
naval  officers  that  I  met  were  alert,  intelligent, 
and  well  informed  professionally.  They  all  had 
their  polished  national  manner.  Superficially,  at 
least,  their  vessels  were  admirable ;  they  seemed 
clean  and  well  kept.  Their  etiquette  was  care- 
fully observed,  but  apparently  their  crews  were 
not  comparable  with  ours,  either  in  physique  or 
in  intelligence.  I  saw  very  little  drilling  of  any 
kind  on  board  the  Spanish  men-of-war  at  Ha- 
vana. After  the  destruction  of  the  Maine,  Gen- 
eral Weyler  was  credited  in  the  press  with  the 
remark  that  "the  Maine  was  indolent."  If  Gen- 
eral Weyler  did  in  fact  make  the  remark,  he 
must  have  got  advices  relative  to  the  Maine  that 
were  not  well  based  on  observation.  While  at 
Havana,  the  Maine  had  no  drills  on  shore,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  but  afloat  she  carried  out  her 
routine  of  drills  day  after  day,  except  that  she 
omitted  "night  quarters"  and  "clearing  ship  for 
action,"  as  likely  to  give  rise  to  misunderstand- 
ing. She  also  exercised  her  boats  under  oars 
and  under  sails,  and  had  gun-pointing  practice 
with  the  aid  of  a  launch  steaming  about  the  har- 
bor. In  this  latter  practice,  care  was  taken  that 
our  guns  should  never  point  toward  the  Spanish 

55 


The  "  Maine" 

men-of-war.  Every  morning  and  evening  the 
crew  were  put  through  the  development  drill. 
Most  of  the  drills  of  the  Maine  were  in  plain 
view  from  without,  by  reason  of  her  structure; 
she  had  no  bulwarks  on  her  main  or  upper  deck. 
After  the  destruction  of  the  Maine,  and  while 
the  Vizcaya  and  Oquendo  were  in  the  harbor,  we 
could  observe  no  drills  taking  place  on  board 
those  vessels,  although  it  is  possible  that  they 
might  have  gone  on  without  our  being  able  to 
observe  them.  There  was  much  ship-visiting  on 
board.  In  everything  they  did,  except  in  respect 
to  etiquette,  the  practised  nautical  eye  could  not 
fail  to  note  their  inferiority  in  one  degree  or  an- 
other to  the  vessels  of  our  own  squadron  at  Key 
West.  Our  vessels  were  then  having  "general 
quarters  for  action  "  three  times  a  week,  and  were 
keeping  up  their  other  drills,  including  night- 
drills,  search-light  practice,  etc.  Vessels  of  the 
Vizcaya  class,  in  the  captain's  cabin  and  officers' 
quarters,  were  one  long  stretch  of  beautiful  wood- 
work, finer  than  is  the  rule  on  board  our  own 
vessels.  The  smaller  guns  of  their  primary  bat- 
teries, and  the  rapid-firing  guns  of  their  second- 
ary batteries,  were  disposed  between  the  turrets 
on  two  decks  in  such  dovetailed  fashion  that  in 
order  to  do  great  damage  an  enemy  needed  only 
to  hit  anywhere  in  the  region  of  the  funnels.  I 

56 


Our  Reception  at  Havana 

remarked  several  times  —  once  to  Admiral  Samp- 
son, who  was  then  Captain  Sampson  of  the  court 
of  inquiry  on  the  destruction  of  the  Maine  —  that 
the  Spanish  vessels  would  be  all  aflame  within 
ten  minutes  after  they  had  gone  into  close  action, 
and  that  their  quarters  at  the  guns  would  be  a 
slaughter-pen.  Future  events  justified  the  state- 
ment. Afterward,  when  I  boarded  the  wreck  of 
the  Infanta  Maria  Teresa  near  Santiago  de 
Cuba,  her  armored  deck  was  below  water,  but 
above  that  there  was  not  even  a  splinter  of  wood- 
work in  sight ;  in  fact,  there  was  hardly  a  cinder 
left  of  her  decks  or  of  that  beautiful  array  of  bulk- 
heads. It  may  have  been  that  the  Maine  re- 
mained longer  in  Havana  than  had  originally 
been  intended  by  the  Navy  Department.  It  was 
expected,  I  believe,  to  relieve  her  by  another 
vessel;  which  vessel,  I  do  not  know.  I  had 
hoped  that  the  Indiana  or  the  Massachusetts 
would  be  sent  to  dispel  the  prevailing  ignorance 
among  the  Spanish  people  in  regard  to  the 
strength  and  efficiency  of  our  ships.  The  de- 
partment may  not  have  accepted  my  views. 

Before  reciting  the  details  immediately  con- 
nected with  the  destruction  of  the  Maine,  it  may 
be  said  that  I  did  not  expect  she  would  be  blown 
up,  either  from  interior  or  exterior  causes,  al- 
though precautions  were  taken  in  both  directions. 

57 


The  "  Maine'1 

Nevertheless,  I  believed  that  she  could  be  blown 
up  from  the  outside,  provided  a  sufficient  number 
of  persons  of  evil  disposition,  and  with  the  conve- 
niences at  hand,  were  free  to  conspire  for  the 
purpose.  It  was  necessary  to  trust  the  Spanish 
authorities  in  great  degree  for  protection  from 
without.  I  believe  that  the  primary  cause  of  the 
destruction  of  the  Maine  was  an  explosion  under 
the  bottom  of  the  ship,  as  reported  by  the  court 
of  inquiry. 


II 

THE   EXPLOSION 

ON  the  night  of  the  explosion,  the  Maine,  lying 
in  the  harbor  of  Havana  at  the  buoy  where 
she  was  moored  by  the  Spanish  pilot  on  her  en- 
trance into  the  port,  was  heading  in  a  direction 
quite  unusual  —  at  least,  for  the  Maine.  In  this 
connection  it  should  be  explained  that  Havana 
is  in  the  region  of  the  trade-wind,  which,  however, 
is  not  so  stable  there  as  farther  to  the  eastward, 
especially  in  the  winter  months.  During  the 
day  the  wind  is  commonly  from  the  eastward,  and 
about  sundown  it  is  likely  to  die  down.  During 
the  night  there  may  be  no  wind  at  all,  and  a  ship 
swinging  at  her  buoy  may  head  in  any  direction. 
On  the  night  of  the  explosion  the  Maine  was 
heading  to  the  northward  and  westward,  in 
the  general  direction  of  the  Machina,  or  naval 
"  sheers,"  near  the  admiral's  palace.  Some  of  the 
watch-officers  said  afterward  that  they  had  not 

59 


The  "  Maine 


before  known  her  to  head  in  that  direction  at 
Havana.  I  myself  did  not  remark  any  peculiar- 
ity of  heading,  because  I  had  not  been  on  deck 
much  during  the  night-watches.  Stated  simply 
as  a  fact,  the  Maine  was  lying  in  the  position  in 
which  she  would  have  been  sprung  to  open 
her  batteries  on  the  shore 
fortifications.  If  an  expert 
had  been  charged  with  mining 
the  Maine's  mooring-berth, 
purely  as  a  measure  of  harbor 
defense,  and  having  only  one 
mine  available,  it  is  believed 
that  he  would  have  placed  it 
under  the  position  that  the 
Maine  occupied  that  night. 

A  short  distance  astern,  or 
nearly  astern,  was  the  Ameri- 
steamer   City  of   Wash- 
m,   Captain    Frank    Ste- 


THE  MAINTOP. 


yard  a  swab  blown  from  the  deck.  -     ,         T  _  T         11-  t-r>i 

vens,  of  the  Ward  line.  1  he 
Alfonso  XII  and  the  Legazpi  occupied  the 
berths  mentioned  heretofore.  They  were  on 
the  starboard  side  of  the  Maine.  There  were 
other  vessels  in  the  harbor,  but  they  were 
more  remote  from  the  Maine  s  berth.  It  was 
a  dark,  overcast  night.  The  atmosphere  was 
heavy,  and  the  weather  unusually  hot  and  sultry. 

60 


The  Explosion 

All  of  the  twenty-six  officers *  were  aboard  except- 
ing Passed  Assistant  Engineer  F.  C.  Bowers, 
Naval  Cadet  (Engineer)  Pope  Washington,  Pay- 
master's Clerk  Brent  McCarthy,  and  Gunner 
Joseph  Hill. 

The  members  of  the  crew,  three  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  in  number,  were  on  board  as  usual. 
One  of  the  steam-launches  was  in  the  water,  and 
riding  at  the  starboard  boom.  The  crew,  ex- 
cepting those  on  watch  or  on  post,  were  turned 
in.  The  men  of  the  quarter-watch  were  distrib- 
uted about  the  deck  in  various  places,  wherever 
they  could  make  themselves  comfortable  within 
permissible  limits  as  to  locality.  Some  of  the 
officers  were  in  their  state-rooms  or  in  the  mess- 
rooms  below ;  others  were  on  the  main  or  upper 
deck,  in  or  about  the  officers'  smoking-quarters, 
which  were  abaft  the  after-turret,  on  the  port 
side,  abreast  the  after-superstructure. 

I  was  in  my  quarters,  sitting  on  the  after-side 


1  The  officers  of  the  Maine  at  the  G.  Heneberger ;  paymaster,  Charles 

time   were :     captain,    Charles    D.  M.  Ray ;  chief  engineer,  Charles  P. 

Sigsbee  ;     executive   officer,    Lieu-  Howell ;  passed  assistant  engineer, 

tenant-Commander  Richard  Wain-  Frederic  C.  Bowers;  assistant  en- 

wright ;       navigator,       Lieutenant  gineers,  John  R.  Morris  and  Darwin 

George    F.   W.  Holman ;    lieuten-  R.  Merntt ;  naval  cadets  (engineer 

ants,    John    Hood    and    Carl  W.  division),  Pope  Washington  and  Ar- 

Jungen ;    lieutenants,  junior-grade,  thur  Crenshaw;  chaplain,  John  P. 

George  P.  Blow,  John  J.  Blandin,  Chidwick;    first  lieutenant  of  ma- 

and  Friend  W.  Jenkins ;  naval  ca-  rines,   Albertus   W.   Catlin ;   boat- 

dets,  Jonas   H.   Holden,  Watt    T.  swain,  Francis  E.  Larkin ;  gunner, 

Cluverius,  Amon  Bronson,  Jr.,  and  Joseph    Hill;     carpenter,    George 

David  F.  Boyd,  Jr.;  surgeon,  Lucien  Helms ;  pay-clerk,  Brent  McCarthy. 

61 


The  "  Maine  " 

of  the  table  in  the  port  or  admiral's  cabin.  As 
previously  stated,  the  Maine  had  been  arranged 
to  accommodate  both  an  admiral  and  a  captain. 
For  this  purpose  her  cabin  space  in  the  after- 
superstructure  had  been  divided  into  two  parts, 
starboard  and  port,  which  were  perfectly  sym- 
metrical in  arrangement  and  fittings.  Looking 
from  one  cabin  into  the  other  through  the  large 
communicating  doorway,  one  cabin  was  like  the 
reflection  of  the  other  seen  in  a  mirror.  The  two 
cabins  were  alike  even  in  furniture.  One  of  the 
illustrations  in  the  book  shows  me  sitting  at  the 
starboard -cab  in  table  looking  at  the  log-book. 
At  the  time  of  the  explosion  I  was  sitting  in  the 
port  cabin  in  the  corresponding  position.  The 
situation  would  be  shown  precisely  if  that  illus- 
tration were  reversed  by  reflection  in  a  mirror. 

About  an  hour  before  the  explosion  I  had  com- 
pleted a  report  called  for  by  Mr.  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  on  the  advis- 
ability of  continuing  to  place  torpedo-tubes  on 
board  cruisers  and  battle-ships.  I  then  wrote  a 
letter  home,  in  which  I  struggled  to  apologize  for 
having  carried  in  my  pocket  for  ten  months  a 
letter  to  my  wife  from  one  of  her  friends  of  long 
standing.  The  cabin  mess-attendant,  James 
Pinckney,  had  brought  me,  about  an  hour  before, 
a  civilian's  thin  coat,  because  of  the  prevailing 

62 


The  Explosion 

heat;  I  had  taken  off  my  blouse,  and  was  wear- 
ing this  coat  for  the  only  time  during  the  cruise. 
In  the  pocket  I  had  found  the  unopened  and  un- 
delivered letter.  Pinckney,  a  light-hearted  col- 
ored man,  who  spent  much  of  his  spare  time  in 
singing,  playing  the  banjo,  and  dancing  jigs,  was 
for  some  reason  in  an  especially  happy  frame  of 
mind  that  night.  Poor  fellow !  he  was  killed,  as 
was  also  good  old  John  R.  Bell,  the  colored  cabin 
steward  already  referred  to,  who  had  been  in  the 
navy,  in  various  ratings,  for  twenty-seven  years. 

At  taps  ("  turn  in  and  keep  quiet "),  ten  minutes 
after  nine  o'clock,  I  laid  down  my  pen  to  listen  to 
the  notes  of  the  bugle,  which  were  singularly 
beautiful  in  the  oppressive  stillness  of  the  night. 
The  marine  bugler,  Newton,  who  was  rather 
given  to  fanciful  effects,  was  evidently  doing  his 
best.  During  his  pauses  the  echoes  floated  back 
to  the  ship  with  singular  distinctness,  repeating 
the  strains  of  the  bugle  fully  and  exactly.  A 
half-hour  later,  Newton  was  dead. 

I  was  inclosing  my  letter  in  its  envelop  when 
the  explosion  came.  The  impression  made  on 
different  people  on  board  the  Maine  varied  some- 
what. To  me,  in  my  position,  well  aft,  and  within 
the  superstructure,  it  was  a  bursting,  rending,  and 
crashing  sound  or  roar  of  immense  volume,  largely 
metallic  in  character.  It  was  followed  by  a  sue- 

63 


The  "  Maine  H 

cession  of  heavy,  ominous,  metallic  sounds,  prob- 
ably caused  by  the  overturning  of  the  central 
superstructure  and  by  falling  debris.  There  was 
a  trembling  and  lurching  motion  of  the  vessel,  a 
list  to  port,  and  a  movement  of  subsidence.  The 
electric  lights,  of  which  there  were  eight  in  the 
cabin  where  I  was  sitting,  went  out.  Then  there 
was  intense  blackness  and  smoke. 

The  situation  could  not  be  mistaken  :  the  Maine 
was  blown  up  and  sinking.  For  a  moment  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation  took  charge  of  me, 
but  this  was  immediately  dominated  by  the  habit 
of  command.  I  went  up  the  inclined  deck  into 
the  starboard  cabin,  toward  the  starboard  air- 
ports, which  were  faintly  relieved  against  the 
background  of  the  sky.  The  sashes  were  out,  and 
the  openings  were  large.  My  first  intention  was 
to  escape  through  an  air-port,  but  this  was  aban- 
doned in  favor  of  the  more  dignified  way  of  mak- 
ing an  exit  through  the  passageway  leading  for- 
ward through  the  superstructure.  I  groped  my 
way  through  the  cabin  into  the  passage,  and 
along  the  passage  to  the  outer  door.  The  pas- 
sage turned  to  the  right,  or  starboard,  near  the 
forward  part  of  the  superstructure. 

At  the  turning,  some  one  ran  into  me  violently. 
I  asked  who  it  was.  It  was  Private  William  An- 
thony, the  orderly  at  the  cabin  door.  He  said 

64 


PRIVATE   WILLIAM  ANTHONY 


The  Explosion 

something  apologetic,  and  reported  that  the  ship 
had  been  blown  up  and  was  sinking.  He  was 
directed  to  go  out  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  I 
followed  him.  Anthony  has  been  pictured  as 
making  an  exceedingly  formal  salute  on  that 
occasion.  The  dramatic  effect  of  a  salute  cannot 
add  to  his  heroism.  If  he  had  made  a  salute  it 
could  not  have  been  seen  in  the  blackness  of  that 
compartment.  Anthony  did  his  whole  duty,  at 
great  personal  risk,  at  a  time  when  he  might 
have  evaded  the  danger  without  question,  and 
deserved  all  the  commendation  that  he  received 
for  his  act.  He  hung  near  me  with  unflagging 
zeal  and  watchfulness  that  night  until  the  ship 
was  abandoned. 

I  stood  for  a  moment  on  the  starboard  side  of 
the  main-deck,  forward  of  the  after-superstruc- 
ture, looking  toward  the  immense  dark  mass  that 
loomed  up  amidships,  but  could  see  nothing  dis- 
tinctly. There  I  remained  for  a  few  seconds  in 
an  effort  to  grasp  the  situation,  and  then  asked 
Anthony  for  the  exact  time.  He  replied :  "  The 
explosion  took  place  at  nine-forty,  sir."  It  was 
soon  necessary  to  retire  from  the  main-deck,  for 
the  after-part  of  the  ship  was  sinking  rapidly.  I 
then  went  up  on  the  poop-deck.  By  this  time 
Lieutenant- Commander  Wainwright  and  others 
were  near  me.  Everybody  was  impressed  by 


2     2 


The  Explosion 

the  solemnity  of  the  disaster,  but  there  was  no 
excitement  apparent;  perfect  discipline  prevailed. 

The  question  has  been  asked  many  times  if  I 
believed  then  that  the  Maine  was  blown  up  from 
the  outside.  My  answer  to  this  has  been  that 
my  first  order  on  reaching  the  deck  was  to  post 
sentries  about  the  ship.  I  knew  that  the  Maine 
had  been  blown  up,  and  believed  that  she  had 
been  blown  up  from  the  outside.  Therefore  I 
ordered  a  measure  which  was  intended  to  guard 
against  attack.  There  was  no  need  for  the 
order,  but  I  am  writing  of  first  impressions. 
There  was  the  sound  of  many  voices  from  the 
shore,  suggestive  of  cheers. 

I  stood  on  the  starboard  side- rail  of  the  poop 
and  held  on  to  the  main-rigging  in  order  to  see 
over  the  poop-awning,  which  was  bagged  and 
covered  with  debris.  I  was  still  trying  to  take 
in  the  situation  more  completely.  The  officers 
were  near  me  and  showing  a  courteous  recogni- 
tion of  my  authority  and  responsibility.  Direc- 
tions were  given  in  a  low  tone  to  Executive  Offi- 
cer Wainwright,  who  himself  gave  orders  quietly 
and  directed  operations.  Fire  broke  out  in  the 
mass  amidships.  Orders  were  given  to  flood 
the  forward  magazine,  but  the  forward  part  of 
the  ship  was  found  to  be  under  water.  Inquiry 
as  to  the  after-magazines  and  the  guncotton 


The  "Maine" 

magazine  in  the  after-part  of  the  ship  showed  a 
like  condition  of  those  compartments,  as  reported 
by  those  who  had  escaped  from  the  ward-room 
and  junior  officers'  quarters.  In  the  captain's 
spare  pantry  in  the  after-superstructure  there  was 
spare  ammunition.  It  was  seen  that  this  would 
soon  be  submerged,  and  that  precautions  in  re- 
spect to  the  magazines  were  unnecessary. 

The  great  loss  of  life  was  not  then  fully  realized. 
Our  eyes  were  not  yet  accustomed  to  the  dark- 
ness. Most  of  us  had  come  from  the  glare  of  the 
electric  lights.  The  flames  increased  in  the  cen- 
tral superstructure,  and  I  directed  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Wainwright  to  make  an  effort  to 
play  streams  on  the  fire  if  practicable.  He  went 
forward  on  the  poop-awning,  accompanied  by 
Lieutenant  Hood  and  Naval  Cadets  Boyd  and 
Cluverius,  making  a  gallant  inspection  in  the 
region  of  the  fire,  but  was  soon  obliged  to  report 
that  nothing  could  be  done.  The  fire-mains  and 
all  other  facilities  were  destroyed,  and  men  were 
not  available  for  the  service. 

We  then  began  to  realize  more  clearly  the  full 
extent  of  the  damage.  One  of  the  smoke-stacks 
was  lying  in  the  water  on  the  starboard  side. 
Although  it  was  almost  directly  under  me,  I  had 
not  at  first  identified  it.  As  my  eyes  became 
more  accustomed  to  the  darkness,  I  could  see, 

68 


The  Explosion 

dimly,  white  forms  on  the  water,  and  hear  faint 
cries  for  help.  Realizing  that  the  white  forms 
were  our  own  men,  boats  were  lowered  at  once 
and  sent  to  the  assistance  of  the  injured  and 
drowning  men.  Orders  were  given,  but  they 
were  hardly  necessary :  the  resourceful  intel- 
ligence of  the  officers  suggested  correct  mea- 
sures in  the  emergency.  Only  three  of  our  fifteen 
boats  were  available — the  barge,  the  captain's 
gig,  and  the  whale-boat.  The  barge  was  badly 
injured.  Two  of  these  were  manned  by  officers 
and  men  jointly.  How  long  they  were  gone  from 
the  ship  I  cannot  recall,  but  probably  fifteen 
minutes.  Those  of  us  who  were  left  on  board 
remained  quietly  on  the  poop-deck. 

Nothing  further  could  be  done ;  the  ship  was 
settling  rapidly.  There  was  one  wounded  man 
on  the  poop ;  he  had  been  hauled  from  under  a 
ventilator  on  the  main-deck  by  Lieutenants  Hood 
and  Blandin  just  as  the  water  was  rising  over 
him.  Other  boats,  too,  were  rescuing  the  wounded 
and  drowning  men.  Chief  among  them  were  the 
boats  from  the  A  Ifonso  XII,  and  from  the  steamer 
City  of  Washington.  The  visiting  boats  had  ar- 
rived promptly,  and  were  unsparing  of  effort  in 
saving  the  wounded.  The  Spanish  officers  and 
crews  did  all  that  humanity  and  gallantry  could 
compass.  During  the  absence  of  our  boats  the 

69 


The  Explosion 

fire  in  the  wreck  of  the  central  superstructure  be- 
came fiercer.  The  spare  ammunition  that  had 
been  stowed  in  the  pilot-house  or  thrown  up  from 
the  magazines  below  was  exploding  in  detail.  It 
continued  to  explode  at  intervals  until  nearly  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

At  night  it  was  the  custom  on  board  the  Maine 
to  close  all  water-tight  compartments  except  the 
few  needed  to  afford  passageway  for  the  crew. 
They  had  been  reported  closed  as  usual  that 
night.  Down  the  cabin  skylights  the  air  could  be 
heard  whistling  through  the  seams  of  the  doors 
and  hatches,  indicating  that  even  the  after-bulk- 
heads had  been  so  strained  as  to  admit  the  water 
into  the  compartments.  Presently  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Wainwright  came  to  me  and  re- 
ported that  our  boats  had  returned  alongside  the 
ship  at  the  stern,  and  that  all  the  wounded  that 
could  be  found  had  been  gathered  in  and  sent  to 
the  Spanish  cruiser  and  the  City  of  Washington 
and  elsewhere.  The  after-part  of  the  poop-deck 
of  the  Maine,  the  highest  intact  point  above 
water,  was  then  level  with  the  gig's  gunwale, 
while  that  boat  was  in  the  water  alongside.  We 
had  done  everything  that  could  be  done,  so  far 
as  could  be  seen. 

It  was  a  hard  blow  to  be  obliged  to  leave  the 
Maine;  none  of  us  desired  to  leave  while  any 

71 


The  "Maine" 

part  of  her  poop  remained  above  water.  We 
waited  until  satisfied  that  she  was  resting  on  the 
bottom  of  the  harbor.  Lieutenant- Commander 
Wainwright  then  whispered  to  me  that  he  thought 
the  forward  ten-inch  magazine  had  been  thrown 
up  into  the  burning  material  amidships  and  might 
explode  at  any  time,  with  further  disastrous  ef- 
fects. He  was  then  directed  to  get  everybody 
into  the  boats,  which  was  done.  It  was  an  easy 
operation ;  one  had  only  to  step  directly  from  the 
deck  into  the  boat.  There  was  still  some  delay 
to  make  sure  that  the  ship's  stern  had  grounded, 
and  still  more  because  of  the  extreme  politeness 
of  the  officers,  who  considerately  offered  me  a 
steadying  hand  to  step  into  the  boat.  Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Wainwright  stood  on  one 
side  and  Lieutenant  Holman  on  the  other; 
each  offered  me  a  hand.  I  suggested  the  pro- 
priety of  my  being  the  last  to  leave,  and  re- 
quested them  to  precede  me,  which  they  did. 
There  was  favorable  comment  later  in  the  press 
because  I  left  last.  It. is  a  fact  that  I  was  the  last 
to  leave,  which  was  only  proper ;  that  is  to  say, 
it  would  have  been  improper  otherwise ;  but 
virtually  all  left  last.  The  fine  conduct  of  those 
who  came  under  my  observation  that  night  was 
conspicuous  and  touching.  The  heroism  of  the 
wounded  men  I  did  not  see  at  the  time,  but  after- 

72 


THE   LAST  SCENE  ON   THE  SINKING   DECK  OF  THE   "MAINE. 


The  Explosion 

ward  good  reports  of  their  behavior  were  very 
common.  The  patient  way  in  which  they  bore 
themselves  left  no  doubt  that  they  added  new 
honors  to  the  service  when  the  Maine  went  down. 


~5CCTION  TH/tOfHOIflEPOOM  SCCTIOH  nf/KFlReROOM 

MIDSHIP  SECTION. 
Only  half  of  the  bridge  and  smoke-stack  are  shown. 

Our  boats  pulled  to  the  City  of  Washington.  On 
the  trip  I  called,  or  sent,  to  the  rescuing  boats, 
requesting  them  to  leave  the  vicinity  of  the  wreck, 
and  informing  them  that  there  might  be  another 
explosion.  Mr.  Sylvester  Scovel,  the  newspaper 

73 


f-7.1 1 


q 


•">«* 


1 


The  Explosion 

correspondent,  was  asked  to  translate  my  request 
to  the  Spanish  boats,  which  he  did. 

On  arriving  on  board  the  City  of  Washington, 
I  found  there  a  number  of  our  wounded  men. 
They  had  been  carried  below  into  the  dining- 
saloon,  where  they  had  been  placed  on  mat- 
tresses. They  were  carefully  tended  by  both 
officers  and  crew  of  the  vessel.  Every  attention 
that  the  resources  of  the  vessel  admitted  had 
been  brought  to  bear  in  their  favor.  The  City 
of  Washington,  then  under  command  of  Captain 
Stevens,  did  great  service.  The  same  was  true 
of  the  A  Ifonso  XII,  and,  it  may  be,  of  the  other 
Spanish  vessels  also.  One  or  more  wounded 
men  were  cared  for  on  board  the  Spanish  trans- 
port Colon. 

I  walked  among  the  wounded  some  minutes, 
and  spent  a  few  more  in  watching  the  fitful 
explosion  of  ammunition  on  board  the  Maine. 
Then  I  went  to  the  captain's  cabin,  and  com- 
posed my  first  telegram  to  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, a  facsimile  of  which  faces  page  76.  I 
had  already  directed  that  a  muster  be  taken  of 
the  survivors,  and  had  sent  a  request  to  the  cap- 
tain of  the  Alfonso  XII  that  he  keep  one  or  more 
patrol -boats  about  the  wreck.  The  relations  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Spain  had  reached 
a  condition  of  such  extreme  tension  that  the  pa- 

75 


The  "  Maine  " 

tience  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  was 
about  exhausted.  Realizing  this  fully  that  night, 
I  feared  the  result  of  first  impressions  of  the 
great  disaster  on  our  people,  for  I  found  it  neces- 
sary to  repress  my  own  suspicions.  I  wished 
them,  as  a  matter  of  national  pride  and  duty,  to 
take  time  for  consideration.  Naval  officers,  no 
less  than  other  citizens,  have  unlimited  confidence 
in  the  sober  judgment  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  It  seemed  also  to  be  a  duty  of  my  posi- 
tion to  sustain  the  government  during  the  period 
of  excitement  or  indignation  that  was  likely  to 
follow  the  reception  of  the  first  report ;  therefore 
I  took  the  course  of  giving  to  my  telegram  an 
uncommonly  strong  advisory  character.  The 
facsimile  illustration  of  the  telegram  shows  that, 
after  advising  that  public  opinion  be  suspended, 
and  signing  my  name,  I  erased  the  name,  and 
added  a  few  more  words  relative  to  the  visit  and 
sympathy  of  the  Spanish  officers.  I  added  these 
additional  words  to  strengthen  the  quieting  effect 
of  the  telegram.  After  my  name  had  been 
signed  in  the  first  instance,  I  was  informed  that 
a  number  of  Spanish  officers  —  civil,  military, 
and  naval  —  had  arrived  on  board  to  express 
sympathy.  I  went  out  on  the  deck,  greeted 
these  gentlemen,  and  thanked  them  for  their 
visit.  Among  them  were  Dr.  Congosto,  secre- 


FACSIMILE.  KEDCCED.  OF  CAPTAIN   SIGSBEE'S  MESSAGF.  TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY, 
"SECNAV"   BEING   THE  TELEGRAPHIC  ADDRESS  OF  THE   LATTER. 


The  Explosion 

tary-general  of  the  island ;  General  Salano, 
chief  of  staff  to  General  Blanco ;  the  civil  gover- 
nor of  the  province,  and  a  number  of  others 
whose  names  I  cannot  now  remember.  I  think 
the  captain  of  the  Alfonso  XII  was  also  there. 
After  asking  them  to  excuse  me  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, to  complete  my  telegram,  I  returned  to 
the  captain's  cabin,  erased  the  first  signature, 
and  added  the  additional  words.  I  then  called 
in  Dr.  Congosto,  read  the  telegram  to  him,  and 
stated  that,  as  there  would  be  great  excitement 
in  the  United  States,  it  was  my  duty  to  diminish 
it  so  far  as  possible.  Dr.  Congosto  had  been  a 
Spanish  consul  in  the  United  States,  and  a  prac- 
tising physician  there  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  remarked  feelingly  that  my  telegram  was 
"  very  kind." 

The  next  step  was  to  get  the  despatch  over 
the  cable.  It  was  written  about  fifteen  minutes 
after  we  left  the  Maine,  and  had  to  be  taken 
ashore  in  a  boat,  and  thence  in  a  cab  to  the 
telegraph  office.  It  must  therefore  have  reached 
the  cable  office  about  eleven  o'clock.  There  was 
a  likelihood  that  the  office  would  be  closed  at 
that  time  of  night,  but  Dr.  Congosto  promised  me 
the  right  of  way  over  the  cable,  and  gave  direc- 
tions that  the  office,  if  closed,  should  be  reopened. 
I  requested  Mr.  George  Bronson  Rea,  then  cor- 

77 


HS  53 
9 
§ 


Ml 


The  Explosion 

respondent,  I  think,  of  "  Harper's  Weekly,"  to 
carry  the  telegram  ashore  and  send  it.  He 
readily  consented.  At  the  same  time  he  also 
sent  for  me  a  telegram  to  Commander  Forsyth, 
commandant  of  the  naval  station  at  Key  West, 
conveying  information  of  the  disaster  to  Admiral 
Sicard.  At  the  office  he  transcribed  them  to 
the  regular  forms ;  then,  it  appears,  he  sent  the 
original  of  the  longer  despatch  to  a  New  York 
newspaper,  where  it  was  reproduced.  Mr.  Rea 
soon  afterward  volunteered  to  return  me  the 
original  of  the  latter.  It  is  through  his  courtesy 
that  it  is  now  in  my  possession.  At  the  time  it 
was  written  it  did  not  occur  to  me  that  the  docu- 
ment would  be  deemed  worthy  of  preservation. 
It  has  been  said  in  criticism  that  I  should  have 
used  the  word  "judgment  "  instead  of  "opinion" 
in  framing  my  telegram.  "Opinion"  was  the  more 
diplomatic  word  under  the  circumstances.  The 
other  might  have  given  rise  to  a  contention  with 
the  censor.  It  will  be  shown  later  how  censor- 
ship in  Cuba  was  applied  to  an  official  despatch 
from  me  to  Washington  announcing  the  ground- 
ing of  my  vessel  by  a  Spanish  pilot. 

Having  disposed  of  the  telegram,  I  returned 
to  the  Spanish  officials.  They  seemed  especially 
desirous  of  having  my  opinion  as  to  the  cause 
of  the  explosion.  I  invariably  answered  that  I 

79 


The  "Maine" 

must  await  investigation.  General  Salano,  a 
handsome  and  distinguished-looking  officer,  of 
dignified  bearing  and  address,  declared  to  me 
that  the  Spanish  authorities  knew  nothing  what- 
ever as  to  the  cause  of  the  destruction  of  the 
Maine.  He  said  that  he  made  the  assertion  as 
a  man,  an  officer,  and  a  Spaniard.  I  assured 
him  of  my  ready  acceptance  of  his  statement, 
and  remarked  that  I  had  not  yet  permitted 
myself  to  give  any  thought  to  the  question  of 
responsibility  for  the  disaster.  The  Spanish 
officers  remained  only  a  short  time.  In  the 
length  of  their  visit,  and  the  character  of  it,  they 
showed  exquisite  tact.  General  Fitzhugh  Lee 
arrived  on  board  the  City  of  Washington  soon 
after  we  boarded  her,  and  remained  all  night,  I 
think.  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  it  took 
high  courage  for  the  United  States  consul-gen- 
eral to  traverse  the  city  and  the  water  during 
the  uncertainties  of  those  early  hours. 

After  the  first  muster  that  night  it  was  re- 
ported to  me  that  only  eighty-four  or  eighty-five 
survivors  could  be  found.  Recent  summary  (see 
Crew  List  and  Mortuary  Statistics,  Appendices  G 
and  H)  shows  that  only  sixteen  of  the  crew  were 
wholly  unhurt.  Two  officers  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men  were  killed.  One  hundred  and  two 
people  were  saved,  but  later*  eight  of  these  died 

80 


The  Explosion 

at  Havana.  Some  of  the  wounded  were  taken 
to  the  landing  at  the  Machina,  where  they  were 
cared  for  by  the  fire  organizations  of  Havana. 
The  wounded  who  were  gathered  in  by  the 
Spaniards  and  Americans  that  night  were  sent 
to  two  hospitals  in  Havana,  the  Alfonso  XIII 
and  the  San  Ambrosio.  I  was  inclined  to  feel 
offended  when  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
cruiser  Alfonso  XII  did  not  refer  to  me  before 
he  sent  the  wounded  ashore  ;  but  I  soon  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  he  had  used  his  best  judg- 
ment, and  with  every  desire  to  be  kind  and 
sympathetic.  The  subsequent  treatment  of  our 
wounded  by  the  Spaniards  was  most  considerate 
and  humane.  They  did  all  that  they  habitually 
did  for  their  own  people,  and  even  more. 

This  paper  was  given  the  form  of  a  personal 
experience,  first,  because  I  alone  was  personally 
connected  with  the  complete  chain  of  incidents 
to  be  recited ;  secondly,  because  the  form  prom- 
ised less  labor  of  preparation  in  the  time  at  my 
disposal.  But  the  explosion,  and  its  immediate 
consequences,  were  too  momentous  and  harrow- 
ing, and  too  varied,  to  be  narrowed  down  to  the 
view  of  one  person,  even  in  so  personal  a  narra- 
tive. None  can  ever  know  the  awful  scenes  of 
consternation,  despair,  and  suffering  down  in  the 
forward  compartments  of  the  stricken  ship ;  of 

81 


The  "  Maine  " 

men  wounded,  or  drowning  in  the  swirl  of  water, 
or  confined  in  a  closed  compartment  gradually 
filling  with  water.  But  from  those  so  favorably 
situated  that  escape  was  possible,  much  may  be 
gathered  to  enable  us  to  form  a  conception  of  the 
general  chaos.  It  is  comforting  to  believe  that 
most  of  those  who  were  lost  were  killed  instantly; 
and  it  is  probably  true,  also,  for  many  of  the 
wounded  who  recovered  had  no  knowledge  of 
the  explosion;  they  remembered  no  sensations, 
except  that  they  awoke  and  found  themselves 
wounded  and  in  a  strange  place. 

The  phenomena  of  the  explosion,  as  witnessed 
by  different  persons,  and  the  personal  experi- 
ences of  officers  and  men,  may  be  derived  from 
the  "  Report  of  the  Naval  Court  of  Inquiry  upon 
the  Destruction  of  the  United  States  Battle-ship 
Maine '."x  I  have,  in  addition,  reports  from  the 
officers  of  the  Maine,  and  my  recollections  of 
conversations  with  those  who  were  informed  in 
various  directions. 

Before  the  court,  Captain  Frederick  G.  Teas- 
dale,  master  of  the  British  bark  Deva,  testified  as 
follows:  He  was  aboard  the  Deva,  which  was 
lying  at  a  wharf  at  Regla,  from  a  quarter  to  half 
a  mile  from  the  Maine.  He  said,  in  continua- 

1  United  States  Senate  Document  No.  207,  Fifty-fifth  Congress,  Second 
Session. 

82 


The  Explosion 

tion  of  his  previous  testimony  :  " .  .  .  sitting  at 
the  cabin  table  writing  when  I  heard  the  explo- 
sion. I  thought  the  ship  had  been  collided  with. 
I  ran  on  deck  when  I  heard  the  explosion.  I  felt 
a  very  severe  shock  in  my  head,  also.  I  seized 
my  head  this  way  [indicating].  I  thought  I  was 
shot,  or  something.  The  transoms  of  the  doors 
of  the  cabin  are  fitted  in  the  studs  on  the  side, 
and  they  were  knocked  out  of  place  with  the 
shock.  The  first  seemed  to  be  a  shot,  and  then  a 
second,  or  probably  two  seconds,  after  the  first 
report  that  I  heard,  I  heard  a  tremendous  explo- 
sion ;  but  as  soon  as  I  heard  the  first  report, — 
it  was  a  very  small  one, —  thinking  something 
had  happened  to  the  ship,  I  rushed  on  deck,  and 
was  on  deck  just  in  time  to  see  the  whole  debris 
going  up  in  the  air.  .  .  .  The  stuff  ascended,  I 
should  say,  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  feet  up  in  the  air.  It  seemed  to 
go  comparatively  straight  until  it  reached  its 
highest  point  of  ascent;  then  it  divided  and 
passed  off  in  kinds  of  rolls  or  clouds.  Then  I 
saw  a  series  of  lights  flying  from  it  again.  Some 
of  them  were  lights  —  incandescent  lights. 
Sometimes  they  appeared  to  be  brighter,  and 
sometimes  they  appeared  to  be  dim,  as  they 
passed  through  the  smoke,  I  should  presume. 
The  color  of  the  smoke,  I  should  say,  was  a  very 

83 


The  "Maine" 

dark  slate-color.  There  were  fifteen  to  twenty 
of  those  lights  that  looked  like  incandescent 
lights.  The  smoke  did  not  seem  to  be  black,  as 
you  would  imagine  from  an  explosion  like  that. 
It  seemed  to  be  more  a  slate-color.  .  .  .  Quanti- 
ties of  paper  and  small  fragments  fell  over  our 
ship,  and  for  some  time  after." 

Mr.  Sigmund  Rothschild,  a  passenger  on  board 
the  City  of  Washington,  went  on  deck  about 
half-past  nine  with  his  fellow-passenger  Mr. 
Wertheimer.  They  drew  chairs  toward  the  rail- 
ing. Mr.  Rothschild  testified:  "In  doing  so,  I 
had  brought  my  chair  just  about  in  this  condition 
[indicating],  and  had  not  sat  down  when  I  heard 
a  shot,  the  noise  of  a  shot.  I  looked  around,  and 
I  saw  the  bow  of  the  Maine  rise  a  little,  go  a  lit- 
tle out  of  the  water.  It  could  n't  have  been 
more  than  a  few  seconds  after  that  noise,  that 
shot,  that  there  came  in  the  center  of  the  ship  a 
terrible  mass  of  fire  and  explosion,  and  every- 
thing went  over  our  heads,  a  black  mass.  We 
could  not  tell  what  it  was.  It  was  all  black. 
Then  we  heard  a  noise  of  falling  material  on  the 
place  where  we  had  been  right  near  the  smoking- 
room.  One  of  the  life-boats,  which  was  hang- 
ing, had  a  piece  go  through  it  and  made  a 
big  hole  in  it.  After  we  saw  that  mass  go  up, 
the  whole  boat  [Maine]  lifted  out,  I  should 

84 


The  Explosion 

judge,  about  two  feet.  As  she  lifted  out,  the  bow 
went  right  down.  .  .  .  We  stood  spellbound, 
and  cried  to  the  captain  [of  the  City  of  Wash- 
ington]. The  captain  gave  orders  to  lower  the 
boats,  and  two  of  the  boats,  which  were  partly 
lowered,  were  found  broken  through  with  big 
holes.  Some  iron  pieces  had  fallen  through 
them.  Naturally,  that  made  a  delay,  and  they 
had  to  run  for  the  other  boats,  or  else  we  would 
have  been  a  few  minutes  sooner  in  the  water. 
Then  the  stern  stood  out  like  this,  in  this  direc- 
tion [indicating],  and  there  was  a  cry  from  the 
people :  '  Help  !'  and  '  Lord  God,  help  us ! '  and 
'  Help  !  Help  ! '  The  noise  of  the  cry  from  the 
mass  of  human  voices  in  the  boat  [Maine]  did 
not  last  but  a  minute  or  two.  When  the  ship 
was  going  down,  there  was  the  cry  of  a  mass  of 
people,  but  that  was  a  murmur.  That  was  not 
so  loud  as  the  single  voices  which  were  in  the 
water.  That  did  not  last  but  a  minute,  and  by 
that  time  we  saw  somebody  on  the  deck  in  the 
stern  of  the  ship,  and  it  took  about  a  few  min- 
utes when  the  boats  commenced  to  bring  in  the 
officers.  [The  last  to  come  on  board.]  We  took 
them  to  our  rooms.  A  great  many  of  them  came 
without  anything  on  but  a  pair  of  pants  and  no- 
thing else.  That  is  about  the  whole  story  in 
regard  to  the  shot."  Mr.  Louis  Wertheimer, 

85 


The  "  Maine  " 

another  passenger  aboard  the  City  of  Washing- 
ton, gave  testimony  to  the  same  effect. 

In  his  testimony  First  Officer  George  Cornell 
of  the  City  of  Washington  said :  "I  was  stand- 
ing on  the  gangway,  and  giving  the  quarter- 
master orders  to  call  the  men  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  While  I  was  standing  there  I 
heard  a  rumbling  sound,  and  we  saw  the  Maine 
raise  up  forward.  After  that  the  explosion  oc- 
curred, and  the  stuff  was  flying  in  the  air  in  all 
directions.  She  sank  immediately  at  the  for- 
ward end." 

Captain  Frank  Stevens,  master  of  the  City  of 
Washington,  testified :  "  I  heard  a  dull,  muffled 
explosion  and  commotion,  like  as  though  it  was 
under  the  water,  followed  instantly  by  a  terrific 
explosion,  lighting  up  the  air  with  a  dull  red 
glare,  filling  the  air  full  of  flying  missiles,  which 
lit  all  around  us.  We  were  struck,  I  think,  in 
four  places." 

It  has  been  said  before  that  some  of  the 
Maine  s  officers  and  some  of  the  crew  were  on 
the  main  or  upper  deck  at  the  time  of  the  explo- 
sion. We  have  the  testimony  of  some  of  them 
relative  to  the  phenomena.  Lieutenant  John 
Hood  was  one  of  these.  His  testimony  is  very 
interesting.  I  quote  it  at  some  length  :  "I  was 
sitting  on  the  port-  side  of  the  deck,  with  my  feet 

86 


The  Explosion 

on  the  rail,  and  I  both  heard  and  felt  —  felt  more 
than  I  heard  —  a  big  explosion,  that  sounded 
and  felt  like  an  under-water  explosion.  I  was 
under  the  impression  that  it  came  from  forward, 
starboard,  at  the  time.  I  instantly  turned  my 
head,  and  the  instant  I  turned  my  head  there 
was  a  second  explosion.  I  saw  the  whole  star- 
board side  of  the  deck,  and  everything  above  it 
as  far  aft  as  the  after-end  of  the  superstructure, 
spring  up  in  the  air,  with  all  kinds  of  objects 
in  it  —  a  regular  crater-like  performance,  with 
flames  and  everything  else  coming  up.  I  imme- 
diately sprang  myself  behind  the  edge  of  the 
superstructure,  as  there  were  a  number  of  objects 
flying  in  my  direction,  for  shelter.  I  ran  very 
quickly  aft,  as  fast  as  I  could,  along  the  after- 
end  of  the  superstructure,  and  climbed  up  on  a 
kind  of  step.  I  went  under  the  barge,  and  by 
the  time  I  went  up  on  the  superstructure  this 
explosion  had  passed.  The  objects  had  stopped 
flying  around.  Then  I  saw  on  the  starboard 
side  there  was  an  immense  mass  of  foaming 
water  and  wreckage  and  groaning  men  out 
there.  It  was  scattered  around  in  a  circle,  I 
should  say  about  a  hundred  yards  in  diameter, 
off  on  the  starboard  side.  I  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  lower  the  gig,  with  the  help  of  another 
man.  After  I  got  that  in  the  water  several  offi- 

8? 


The  "Maine" 

cers  jumped  in  it,  and  one  or  two  men.  In  the 
meantime  somebody  else  was  lowering  the  other 
boat  on  the  port  side.  I  heard  some  groans  for- 
ward, and  ran  forward  on  the  quarter-deck  down 
the  poop-ladder,  and  I  immediately  brought  up 
on  an  immense  pile  of  wreckage.  I  saw  one  man 
there,  who  had  been  thrown  from  somewhere, 
pinned  down  by  a  ventilator." 

THE  COURT.  "  May  I  interrupt  Mr.  Hood  a 
moment?  He  said  several  officers  jumped  into 
the  gig.  He  does  not  say  for  what  purpose  or 
what  they  did.  That  might  leave  a  bad  im- 
pression unless  he  states  what  the  object 
was." 

ANSWER.  "  They  jumped  into  the  gig,  com- 
manded to  pick  up  these  wounded  men  whom  we 
heard  out  in  the  water.  The  orders  had  been 
given  by  the  captain  and  the  executive  officer  to 
lower  the  boats  as  soon  as  they  came  on  deck.  I 
spoke  of  lowering  the  gig  because  I  was  on  the 
deck  before  they  got  up  there,  and  began  to  lower 
it  anyway,  to  pick  up  these  men.  As  I  was  say- 
ing a  minute  ago,  I  found  this  one  man  lying  there 
on  the  quarter-deck  in  this  wreckage,  pinned 
down  by  a  ventilator.  With  Mr.  Blandin's  help 
we  got  him  up  just  in  time  before  the  water 
rose  over  him.  The  captain  and  the  executive 
officer  ordered  the  magazines  to  be  closed 

88 


The  Explosion 

[flooded].  We  all  saw  at  once  that  it  would  be 
no  use  flooding  the  magazines.  We  saw  that  the 
magazines  were  flooding  themselves.  Then  the 
captain  said  he  wanted  the  fire  put  out  that  was 
starting  up  in  the  wreckage.  I  made  my  way 
forward  through  the  wreck  and  debris,  up  to  the 
middle  superstructure,  to  see  if  anything  could  be 
done  toward  putting  out  this  fire.  When  I  got 
there  I  found  nothing  could  be  done,  because  the 
whole  thing  was  gone. 

"  When  I  climbed  up  on  this  wreck  on  the  su- 
perstructure I  saw  similar  piles  of  wreckage  on 
the  port  side  which  I  had  not  seen  before,  and  I 
saw  some  men  struggling  in  that,  in  the  water; 
but  there  were  half  a  dozen  boats  there,  I  sup- 
pose, picking  them  up  and  hauling  them  out; 
and  after  pulling  down  some  burning  swings 
and  things  that  were  starting  to  burn  aft,  to 
stop  any  fire  from  catching  aft,  I  came  aft  again 
out  of  the  wreckage.  There  was  no  living  thing 
up  there  at  that  time.  Shortly  after  that  we 
all  left  the  ship.  There  were  two  distinct  explo- 
sions,—  big  ones, —  and  they  were  followed  by  a 
number  of  smaller  explosions,  which  I  took  at 
once  to  be  what  they  were,  I  suppose — explo- 
sions of  separate  charges  of  the  blown-up  maga- 
zine. The  instant  this  first  explosion  occurred 
I  knew  the  ship  was  gone  completely,  and  the 


The  "  Maine" 

second  explosion  only  assisted  her  to  go  a  little 
quicker.  She  began  to  go  down  instantly.  The 
interval  between  the  two  was  so  short  that  I  only 
had  time  to  turn  my  head  and  see  the  second. 
She  sank  on  the  forward  end  —  went  down  like 
a  shot.  In  the  short  time  that  I  took  to  run  the 
length  of  that  short  superstructure  aft,  the  deck 
canted  down,  showing  that  her  bow  had  gone 
at  once. 

"At  the  same  time  the  ship  heeled  over  consid- 
erably to  port,  I  should  say  about  ten  degrees, 
the  highest  amount,  and  then  the  stern  began  to 
sink  very  rapidly,  too ;  so  rapidly  that  by  the 
time  I  got  that  gig  lowered,  with  the  assistance 
of  another  man  or  two,  the  upper  quarter-deck 
was  under  water,  and  the  stern  was  sinking  so 
quickly  that  when  I  began  to  pick  this  man  up, 
whom  I  spoke  of  on  the  quarter-deck,  the  deck 
was  still  out  of  water.  Before  I  got  this  ventilator 
off  him — it  did  n't  take  very  long,  as  Mr.  Blandin 
assisted  to  move  that  to  get  him  up  —  the  water 
was  over  my  knees,  and  just  catching  this  fellow's 
head,  the  stern  was  sinking  that  quickly.  The 
bow  had  gone  down,  as  I  say,  instantly." 

Special  interest  attaches  to  the  personal  expe- 
riences of  Lieutenant  John  H.  Blandin,  who  has 
since  died.  The  disaster  appeared  to  affect  him 
greatly,  and  led,  doubtless,  to  the  impairment 

90 


The  Explosion 

of  his  health.  He  had  made  an  unusually  long 
tour  of  continuous  sea  duty,  and  had  suffered 
considerable  disappointment  because  of  his  failure 
to  secure  his  detachment  from  the  Maine.  For 
certain  public  reasons  it  had  not  been  granted 
him,  but  it  would  have  come  soon.  He  said: 
"After  the  third  quarter-watch  at  nine  o'clock 
was  piped  down,  I  was  on  the  starboard  side  of 
the  deck,  walking  up  and  down.  I  looked  over 
the  side,  and  then  went  over  to  the  port  side  and 
took  a  look.  I  don't  remember  seeing  any  boats 
at  all  in  sight.  I  thought  at  the  time  the  harbor 
was  very  free  from  boats.  I  thought  it  was  about 
three  bells,  and  I  walked  over  to  the  port  side  of 
the  deck,  just  abaft  the  after- turret.  Mr.  Hood 
came  up  shortly  afterward,  and  was  talking  to 
me  when  the  explosion  occurred.  I  am  under  the 
impression  that  there  were  two  explosions,  though 
I  could  not  be  sure  of  it.  Mr.  Hood  started  aft 
to  get  on  the  poop  to  lower  the  boats,  I  suppose, 
and  I  followed  him.  Something  struck  me  on 
the  head.  My  cap  was  in  my  hand.  My  head 
was  slightly  cut,  and  I  was  partially  knocked 
over,  but  not  stunned.  I  climbed  on  the  poop 
and  went  on  the  starboard  side,  and  found  Cap- 
tain Sigsbee  there.  I  reported  to  him.  He  or- 
dered the  boats  lowered  at  once  to  pick  up  any 
of  the  wounded.  The  officers  very  rapidly  got 

91 


The  "  Maine" 

on  the  poop,  and  there  were  one  or  two  men 
there,  but  very  few. 

"The  barge  and  gig  were  lowered,  and  just 
then  I  heard  a  man  crying  out  down  on  the 
quarter-deck.  I  went  to  the  ladder,  and  I  saw 
Mr.  Hood  trying  to  pull  a  ventilator  off  the  man's 
legs.  He  was  lying  in  the  wreckage,  jammed 
there.  The  water  then  was  not  deep.  I  went 
down  and  helped  Mr.  Hood  to  pull  this  ventilator 
off,  and  carried  the  man  on  the  poop,  with  the 
help  of  Private  Loftus,  I  think  it  was.  It  was 
a  private  man  [marine].  Then  the  captain  told 
Mr.  Wainwright  to  see  if  anything  could  be  done 
to  put  out  the  fire.  Mr.  Wainwright  went  for- 
ward to  the  middle  superstructure,  and  shortly 
afterward  came  back  and  reported  to  the  cap- 
tain that  it  was  hopeless  to  try  to  do  anything. 
Then  in  a  very  few  moments  the  captain  de- 
cided that  it  was  hopeless,  and  gave  the  order 
to  abandon  ship.  Boats  came  from  the  Alfonso 
Doce,  and  two  boats  from  the  City  of  Washing- 
ton, and  those,  with  our  boats,  picked  up  the 
wounded  and  sent  most  of  them,  by  the  captain's 
order,  to  the  Alfonso.  There  were  thirty-four 
sent  there.  We  abandoned  ship,  the  captain 
getting  in  his  gig  after  everybody  had  left,  and 
went  to  the  City  of  Washington." 

One  of  the  narrowest  escapes  of  an  officer  was 

92 


H 

X    « 
P    "9 


K     6 


The  Explosion 

that  of  Naval  Cadet  D.  F.  Boyd,  Jr.  I  quote  a 
large  part  of  his  report  to  me.  It  gives  all  that 
is  known  of  the  case  of  Assistant  Engineer  Dar- 
win R.  Merritt,  who  was  drowned.  "About 
nine-thirty,  as  well  as  I  am  able  to  judge,  on  the 
night  of  February  1 5,  Assistant  Engineer  D.  R. 
Merritt  and  I  were  sitting  in  the  steerage  [junior 
officers'  mess-room]  reading,  when  I  heard  a 
dull  report,  followed  by  the  crashing  of  splinters 
and  falling  of  the  electric-light  fixtures  overhead. 
The  lights  were  extinguished  at  the  first  report. 
I  was  struck  by  a  small  splinter  and  dazed  for 
a  moment.  I  grasped  Mr.  Merritt  by  the  arm, 
exclaiming  :  '  Out  of  this  !  Up  on  deck  ! '  To- 
gether we  groped  our  way  out  of  the  steerage, 
and  along  the  bulkhead  in  the  after  torpedo- 
room,  where  we  met  a  cloud  of  steam  and  tre- 
mendous rush  of  water.  The  force  of  the  water 
separated  us,  and  as  I  was  lifted  off  my  feet,  I 
caught  a  steam -heater  pipe,  and  reached  for  the 
steerage-ladder.  It  was  gone.  I  worked  my 
way  along  the  steam -pipe  until  I  reached  the 
port  side  of  the  ship.  Water  was  rushing  through 
the  air-port,  and  as  I  reached  the  side,  I  heard 
some  one  cry  :  '  God  help  me  !  God  help  me ! ' 
I  think  it  must  have  been  Merritt.  At  that  mo- 
ment I  found  the  two  torpedoes  that  were  triced 
up  under  the  deck-beams,  and  twining  my  legs 

93 


The  "  Maine  " 

around  them,  I  worked  my  way  inboard.1  The 
water  was  then  at  a  level  of  about  one  foot  from 
the  deck-beams.  At  that  moment  some  burning 
cellulose  flared  up,  and  I  was  able  to  reach  the 
hatch-coaming  and  work  my  way  up  on  deck.  I 
rushed  on  the  poop,  and  there  found  Captain 
Sigsbee,  Lieutenant-Commander  Wainwright, 
Lieutenants  Holman  and  Hood,  and  Naval  Cadet 
Cluverius.  The  remaining  boats  were  away, 
picking  up  these  men  in  the  water.  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Wainwright  and  I  then  went  on  the 
quarter-deck  awning  and  on  the  middle  super- 
structure to  help  out  any  wounded. 

"When  the  captain  gave  the  order  to  abandon 
ship,  we  were  brought  over  in  the  Ward  line 
steamer  City  of  Washington  s  boat.  The  boats 
present,  as  well  as  I  remember,  were  two  of  our 
boats,  two  from  the  City  of  Washington,  three 
from  the  Alfonso  XII,  and  several  shore  boats." 

The  circumstances  connected  with  the  loss  of 
Lieutenant  Friend  W.  Jenkins  have  been  in- 
volved in  much  mystery.  Lieutenant  Holman 
testified  that  he  himself,  together  with  Lieu- 
tenants Jungen  and  Jenkins  and  Chief  Engineer 

1  The  ladders  and  hatches  by  deck,  when  the  compartment  was 

which   the   officers  and   others   es-  nearly  full  of  water,  and  worked  his 

caped  were  inboard  from  this  tube,  way  to  the  hatch. 

Naval  Cadet  Boyd  clasped  his  legs  Lieutenant   Jenkins's  body  was 

around  the  torpedoes  slung  to  the  found  wedged  against  these  torpe- 

ceiling,  or  underside  of  the   main-  does. 

94 


The  Explosion 

« 

Howell,  were  in  the  officers'  mess-room.  All 
were  saved  but  Lieutenant  Jenkins.  Mess- 
attendant  John  H.  Turpin  (colored)  was  in  the 
ward- room  pantry,  which  is  next  forward  of  the 
officers'  mess-room.  In  his  testimony  Turpin 
says:  "It  was  a  jarring  explosion — just  one 
solid  explosion,  and  the  ship  heaved  and  lifted 
like  that,  and  then  all  was  dark.  I  met  Mr. 
Jenkins  in  the  mess-room,  and  by  that  time  the 
water  was  up  to  my  waist,  and  the  water  was 
running  aft.  It  was  all  dark  in  there,  and  he 
hollered  to  me,  and  he  says :  '  Which  way  ? 
I  don't  know  what  he  meant  by  that.  I  says: 
'I  don't  know  which  way.'  He  hollered  again: 
'  Which  way  ? '  I  says  :  '  I  don't  know,  sir,  which 
way.'  And  he  hollered  the  last  time;  he  says: 
'  Which  way  ? '  I  says  :  '  I  don't  know,  sir.'  Then 
I  was  groping  my  way,  and  the  water  was  up 
to  my  breast.  Mr.  Jenkins  started  forward,  and 
then  the  whole  compartment  lit  right  up.  That 
whole  compartment  where  the  torpedoes  were  lit 
right  up,  and  I  seen  Mr.  Jenkins  then  throw  up 
both  hands  and  fall,  right  by  the  steerage  pantry. 
Then  I  groped  my  way  aft,  and  got  to  the  cap- 
tain's ladder  —  the  ladder  coming  out  of  the  ward- 
room— just  as  you  come  out  of  the  ward-room 
to  go  up  in  the  cabin.  When  I  got  there  the 
ladder  was  carried  away,  and  somehow  or  other 

95 


The  "Maine" 

the  man-rope  kept  fast  upon  the  deck,  but  the  lad- 
der got  adrift  from  it  down  below  in  the  water. 
By  that  time  the  water  was  right  up  even  with 
my  chin.  Then  I  commenced  to  get  scared,  and 
in  fooling  around  it  happened  that  a  rope  touched 
my  arm,  and  I  commenced  to  climb  overhand  and 
got  on  deck." 

Fireman  William  Gartrell  was  in  the  steering- 
engine  room,  two  decks  lower  than  the  officers' 
mess-room.  He  was  lower  down  in  the  ship 
than  any  other  man  that  escaped.  To  reach  the 
level  of  the  officers'  mess-rooms  he  had  to  run 
forward  about  twenty  feet,  pass  through  a  door- 
way, spring  across  to  a  ladder,  climb  up  two 
flights  of  ladders,  and  pass  through  another 
doorway  —  a  narrow  and  difficult  route  under 
the  best  of  conditions  (see  profile  of  the  Maine). 
I  quote  his  testimony  in  part:  "I  could  see 
through  the  door,  sir.  It  was  a  kind  of  a  blue 
flame,  and  it  came  all  at  once.  The  two  of  us 
jumped  up,  and  I  went  on  the  port  side  up  the 
engine-room  ladder,  and  Frank  Gardiner  he 
went  up  the  starboard  side  —  at  least,  he  did  n't 
go  up,  because  he  hollered  to  me.  He  struck 
the  door  right  there  where  the  partition  separates 
the  two  doors,  and  he  must  have  struck  his  head. 
He  hollered  to  me ;  he  says :  '  O  Jesus,  Billy,  I 
am  gone.'  I  did  n't  stop  then,  because  the  water 


g  c 
5  ^ 

H  < 


The  Explosion 

was  up  to  my  knees.  I  made  a  break  as  quick 
as  I  could  up  the  ladder,  and  when  I  got  up  the 
ladder  into  the  steerage-room  the  ladder  was 
gone.  Everything  was  dark.  I  could  n't  see 
nothing;  everything  was  pitch-dark,  and  I  gave 
up,  or  I  started  to  give  up.  There  was  a  colored 
fellow  with  me ;  I  did  n't  know  his  name  until 
afterward.  His  name  was  Harris.  We  got  hold 
of  each  other.  I  says :  '  Let 's  give  up  ;  there  is 
no  hope.'  I  started  in  to  say  a  prayer  the  best 
I  knew  how,  and  I  heard  a  voice.  It  must  have 
been  an  officer;  it  could  n't  have  been  a  man's 
voice,  because  he  says :  '  There  is  hope,  men.'  I 
knew  from  that  that  he  was  an  officer.  After 
that  I  seen  a  little  light.  It  looked  like  an  awful 
distance  from  me,  but  I  made  for  that  light,  and 
when  I  got  there  it  seemed  like  I  could  see  the 
heavens.  I  got  jammed  in  the  ladder.  My  head 
was  right  up  against  the  deck.  I  seen  the  lad- 
der, and  I  caught  hold  of  Harris,  and  the  two 
of  us  hugged  each  other.  .  .  .  The  ladder  was 
hung  crossways  on  top.  There  was  n't  no  ladder 
that  we  could  walk  up.  The  ladder  was  up 
above  us.  ...  I  don't  know  whether  I  got  out 
first,  or  this  colored  fellow,  but  when  I  did  get 
out  I  tried  to  say  a  prayer.  I  looked  where  I 
was,  and  I  saw  the  heavens  and  everything,  and 
I  tried  to  say  a  prayer  or  something,  and  I 

97 


The  "  Maine  " 

fainted  away.  I  felt  some  one  picking  me  up, 
and  they  throwed  me  overboard." 

The  foregoing  extracts  refer  to  those  who  es- 
caped from  that  part  of  the  ship  that  was  not  de- 
stroyed. The  fearful  loss  of  life  was  forward. 
I  believe  only  two  men  escaped  from  the  berth  - 
deck  forward  of  the  officers'  quarters,  the  prin- 
cipal sleeping-quarters  of  the  crew,  namely, 
Charles  Bergman,  boatswain's  mate,  and  Jere- 
miah Shea,  coal-passer.  I  regret  that  I  have  no 
report  of  Shea's  experience.  He  was  sleeping 
below  the  great  pile  of  wreckage  that  is  the  most 
prominent  feature  in  the  pictures  of  the  wreck. 
Afterward,  when  asked  to  account  for  his  miracu- 
lous escape,  he  replied :  "  I  think  I  must  be  an  ar- 
mor-piercing projectile,  sir."  Bergman  was  turned 
in,  in  his  hammock,  which  was  swung  from  the 
beams  in  the  forward  crew-space,  just  abaft  the 
"brig,"  or  prison,  on  the  starboard  side.  In  his 
testimony  Bergman  says  : 

"  I  heard  a  terrible  crash,  an  explosion  I  sup- 
pose that  was.  Something  fell,  and  then  after  that 
I  got  thrown  somewhere  in  a  hot  place.  Where- 
ever  that  was  I  don't  know.  I  got  burned  on 
my  legs  and  arms,  and  got  my  mouth  full  of 
ashes  and  one  thing  and  another.  Then  the 
next  thing  I  was  in  the  water  —  away  under  the 
water  somewhere,  with  a  lot  of  wreckage  on  top 


The  Explosion 

of  me  that  was  sinking  me  down.  After  I  got 
clear  of  that  I  started  to  come  up  to  the  surface 
of  the  water  again,  and  I  got  afoul  of  some  other 
wreckage.  I  got  my  head  jammed  in,  and  I 
could  n't  get  loose,  so  I  let  myself  go  down. 
Then  it  carried  me  down  farther.  I  suppose 
when  it  touched  the  bottom  somewhere  it  sort  of 
opened  out  a  bit,  and  I  got  my  head  out  and 
started  for  the  surface  of  the  water  again.  I  hit  a 
lot  of  other  stuff  with  my  head,  and  then  I  got 
my  head  above  the  water.  I  got  picked  up  by 
a  Spanish  boat,  one  of  these  shore  boats,  I  think." 

The  narratives  of  others  might  be  continued 
at  much  greater  length,  but  the  advisability  is 
lessened  by  the  existence  of  a  very  complete 
record  in  the  report  of  the  court  of  inquiry. 

At  2  A.  M.  on  the  night  of  the  explosion  I  lay 
down  in  a  state-room  of  the  City  of  Washington, 
hoping  to  get  enough  sleep  to  give  me  a  clear 
head  for  the  difficulties  of  the  following  day, 
which  I  knew  would  be  great.  The  bunk  was 
uncomfortable,  the  weather  hot,  and  the  stench 
from  the  harbor  water  disagreeable.  A  few  feet 
from  my  state-room  the  wounded  lay.  Some 
of  them  groaned  pitifully,  and  doubtless  uncon- 
sciously; one  had  nausea.  I  tried  hard  to  ignore 
all  disturbances,  but  got  very  little  sleep  that  night. 

At  daylight  I  again  went  among  the  wounded 

99 


The  "  Maine" 

men.  As  I  patted  a  wounded  Japanese  mess- 
man  on  the  shoulder,  the  poor  fellow  looked 
greatly  pleased,  and  made  a  futile  effort  to  rise 
up  and  be  respectful.  Then  I  gazed  long  and 
sadly  at  the  wreck  of  the  Maine.  How  great 
the  destruction  !  She  had  settled  in  the  mud, 
and  her  poop-deck,  where  we  had  stood  at  the 
last  moment,  was  under  water.  There  was  no 
part  of  her  hull  visible  except  that  torn  and  mis- 
shapen mass  amidships  and  three  pieces  of  steel 
jutting  out  of  the  water  farther  forward,  one  of 
which  was  from  the  bottom  plating  of  the  ship. 
The  forward  part  of  the  central  superstructure  had 
been  blown  upward  and  somewhat  to  starboard, 
and  had  folded  back  on  its  after-part,  carrying 
the  bridge,  pilot-house,  and  six-inch  gun  and 
conning-tower  with  it,  and  completely  capsizing 
them.  The  broad  surface  that  was  uppermost 
was  the  ceiling  of  the  berth-deck,  where  many 
men  had  swung  from  beam  to  beam  in  their 
hammocks  the  night  before.  On  the  white  paint 
of  the  ceiling  was  the  impression  of  two  human 
bodies, —  mere  dust, —  so  I  was  told  afterward. 
The  great  pile  was  so  torn,  twisted,  and  confused 
with  structural  details  that  the  identification  of 
visible  parts  was  only  possible  after  careful  study. 
The  foremast  had  toppled  over  forward  and  dis- 
appeared. Only  one  end  of  the  fore  signal-yard 

IOO 


The  Explosion 

was  above  water;  this  was  well  forward  of  every- 
thing else,  and  looked  like  a  spar-buoy.  Even 
the  mooring-buoy  had  gone  down.  The  cellu- 
lose from  the  coffer-dams  was  still  burning. 

The  Alfonso  ^Y//and  the  City  of  Washington 
had  shifted  their  berths  farther  from  the  wreck 
during  the  night,  to  avoid  the  bursting  rapid-fire 
ammunition.  The  Spanish  patrol-boats  were  on 
duty.  But  saddest  of  all  was  the  reflection  that 
many  dead  were  down  there  in  the  wreck,  and 
that  many  homes  were  made  desolate.  It  was  not 
difficult  to  conceive  what  the  day  and  the  water 
would  bring  forth.  My  thoughts  naturally  turned 
toward  Jenkins  and  Merritt,  whose  safety  was  in 
doubt ;  we  had  not  wholly  given  them  up  for  lost. 
Inquiries  were  made  as  to  their  movements  the 
night  before,  but  no  hope  could  be  built  up. 

The  officers  of  the  Maine  were  in  good  physi- 
cal condition  that  morning:  none  showed  signs 
of  nervous  shock.  The  same  is  true  of  the  unin- 
jured men.  None  had  saved  more  than  he  had 
upon  him  when  the  explosion  came,  and  some 
had  been  wet  by  the  filthy  harbor  water ;  kind- 
hearted  passengers  and  officers  of  the  vessel  had 
supplied  deficiencies  so  far  as  possible,  but  we 
were  a  gruesome  party.  During  the  day  the 
United  States  despatch-steamer  Fern,  Lieuten- 
ant-Commander W.  C.  Cowles  commanding, 

101 


The  "  Maine  " 

arrived.  So  did  the  steamer  Mangrove  of  the 
United  States  Lighthouse  Establishment,  with 
Commander  Samuel  Belden,  U.  S.  N.,  on  board, 
and  the  American  passenger-steamer  Olivette  of 
the  Plant  line.  Assistant  Surgeon  Spear  of  the 
flagship  New  York  and  Surgeon  Clendenin  of  the 
army  post  at  Key  West  came  to  render  assistance. 
The  day  after  the  explosion  of  the  Maine,  I 
sent  to  Key  West,  by  the  Olivette,  every  officer 
and  man  that  could  be  spared  or  who  could 
travel.  My  desire  was  to  retain  no  one  in 
Havana  that  could  get  away ;  and  thereafter  the 
wounded  men  were  taken  from  the  hospitals  and 
sent  to  Key  West  as  soon  as  they  could  bear  the 
journey.  Miss  Clara  Barton,  in  behalf  of  the 
Red  Cross  Society,  offered  to  place  a  specially 
prepared  hospital  at  my  service  for  the  wounded 
men.  The  offer  was  gratefully  declined  on  the 
ground  that  any  removal  at  all  should  be  to  Key 
West.  I  retained  on  duty  in  Havana  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Wainwright,  Paymaster  Ray,  Dr. 
Heneberger,  Chaplain  Chidwick,  Lieutenant 
Holman,  and  Naval  Cadets  Holden  and  Cluve- 
rius.  I  also  retained  my  orderly,  Private  William 
Anthony,  and  a  very  worthy  gunner's  mate 
named  Bullock.  The  greater  part  of  that  day 
was  spent  on  the  water,  on  board  the  visiting 
vessels  already  named,  receiving  reports,  parting 

1 02 


The  Explosion 

with  the  officers  and  men,  and  preparing  for  the 
work  to  come.  In  the  forenoon  I  sent  the  fol- 
lowing telegram  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy : 

Advise  sending  wrecking-vessel  at  once.  Maine  submerged 
except  debris.  Mostly  work  for  divers  now.  Jenkins  and 
Merritt  still  missing.  Little  hope  for  their  safety.  Those 
known  to  be  saved  are:  officers,  24;  uninjured,  crew,  18; 
wounded  now  on  Ward  line  steamer,  in  city  hospitals  and 
hotels,  59,  so  far  as  known.  All  others  went  down  on  board  or 
near  the  Maine.  Total  lost  or  missing,  253.  With  several 
exceptions,  no  officer  or  man  has  more  than  a  part  of  a  suit  of 
clothing,  and  that  is  wet  with  water.  Ward  steamer  leaves  for 
Mexico  at  2  this  afternoon.  The  officers  saved  are  uninjured. 
Damage  was  in  compartments  of  crew.  Am  preparing  to  tele- 
graph list  of  saved  and  wounded.  Olivette  leaves  for  Key  West 
at  i  P.  M.  Will  send  by  her  to  Key  West  officers  saved,  except 
myself  and  Wainwright,  Holman,  Heneberger,  Ray,  and  Hoi- 
den.  Will  turn  over  three  uninjured  boats  to  captain  of  port, 
with  request  for  safe-keeping.  Will  send  all  wounded  men  to 
hospital  in  Havana. 

The  following  telegram  was  received  from  the 
Secretary : 

The  President  directs  me  to  express  for  himself  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States  his  profound  sympathy  with  the 
officers  and  crew  of  the  Maine,  and  desires  that  no  expense  be 
spared  in  providing  for  the  survivors  and  caring  for  the  dead. 

The  Olivette  and  the  City  of  Washington  left 
during  the  afternoon,  the  latter  for  Vera  Cruz, 
Mexico,  the  wounded  men  having  been  trans- 
ferred from  her  to  the  San  Ambrosio  Hospital. 

103 


The  "  Maine  " 

At  4  P.  M.  I  went  ashore  and  took  up  my  quar- 
ters at  the  Hotel  Inglaterra,  where  General  Lee 
lived.  Others  of  the  Maine  s  officers  were  there 
with  me  or  at  another  hotel  near  by.  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Wainwright  preferred  to  remain  on 
board  the  Fern  with  his  friend,  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Cowles.  Anthony  and  Bullock  went 
with  me  to  the  Inglaterra.  This  hotel  occupies 
a  central  position  with  respect  to  the  harbor,  the 
palace,  the  cable  office,  the  consulate,  the  morgue, 
and  the  cemetery.  It  was  the  rational  residence 
for  me  at  the  time.  I  remained  there  about  a 
week.  There  were  many  evidences  that  the 
people  of  Havana,  as  a  body,  gave  us  sincere 
sympathy,  at  least  at  that  time.  That  day,  Gen- 
eral Lee,  whose  opportunity  for  judging  was 
better  than  mine,  sent  the  following  telegram  to 
the  Department  of  State : 

Profound  sorrow  expressed  by  government  and  municipal 
authorities,  consuls  of  foreign  nations,  organized  bodies  of  all 
sorts,  and  citizens  generally.  Flags  at  half-mast  on  governor- 
general's  palace,  on  shipping  in  harbor,  and  in  city.  Business 
suspended;  theaters  closed.  Dead  number  about  260. 
Officers'  quarters  being  in  rear  and  seamen's  forward,  where 
explosion  took  place,  accounts  for  greater  proportional  loss  of 
sailors.  Funeral  to-morrow  at  3  p.  M.  Officers  Jenkins  and 
Merritt  still  missing.  Suppose  you  ask  that  naval  court  of 
inquiry  be  held  to  ascertain  cause  of  explosion.  Hope  our 
people  will  repress  excitement  and  calmly  await  decision. 

IO4 


The  Explosion 

The  swirl  of  responsibilities  in  which  I  found 
myself  can  well  be  understood.  I  had  lost  my 
vessel  and  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  of 
my  crew  in  a  foreign  port,  politically  unfriendly 
at  least,  where  I  could  not  command  the  re- 
sources that  were  needed.  It  was  a  land  of  one 
creed.  The  recovery  of  the  dead  was  reported 
to  me  hour  after  hour ;  more  were  down  in  the 
wreck.  State  papers  must  be  recovered,  the 
vessel  protected,  the  dead  assembled,  coffined, 
and  buried.  Bereaved  families  and  friends  would 
be  emotional,  and  might  not  be  satisfied  with  my 
measures.  There  were  questions  of  diplomacy, 
policy,  investigation,  resources,  and  expense; 
there  were  telegrams,  private  and  official,  to  an- 
swer and  to  frame,  during  the  day  and  far  into 
the  night,  and  statistics  to  gather  and  report. 
The  situation  was  complex  and  trying.  Although 
without  personal  dread  of  the  responsibility  as 
relating  to  myself  or  my  career,  I  was  much  con- 
cerned to  do  only  that  which  would  meet  the 
approval  of  my  own  government  and  of  the  rela- 
tives of  the  deceased  men  of  the  Maine. 

We  were  face  to  face  with  innumerable  diffi- 
culties when  a  large  measure  of  relief  came  from 
an  unexpected  source.  That  night  General 
Blanco,  accompanied  by  the  mayor  of  Havana, 
visited  me  at  the  hotel,  where  they  personally 

105 


The  "  Maine  " 

expressed  their  sympathy  and  made  offers  of 
service.  They  requested  that  the  authorities  of 
Havana  be  allowed  to  give  public  burial  to  the 
dead  already  recovered  from  the  Maine,  in  order 
that  public  sympathy  and  sorrow  might  be 
shown,  and  honor  done  the  dead.  While  it 
seemed  probable  that  the  acceptance  of  this  offer 
would  not  meet  with  approval  on  all  sides  among 
Americans  who  were  most  concerned,  it  was  ac- 
cepted with  suitable  acknowledgments.  General 
Lee  thought  as  I  did  in  the  matter.  It  is  grati- 
fying to  remember  that  we  were  always  in  har- 
mony. Relative  to  the  visit  of  General  Blanco 
and  the  mayor  of  Havana,  I  sent  the  following 
telegram  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy : 

General  Blanco  called  on  me  personally  at  the  hotel  last 
night,  and  also  the  mayor  of  the  city.  They  have  requested 
me  to  permit  the  government  here  to  give  a  public  burial  to 
the  dead  already  found,  in  order  that  public  sympathy  may  be 
expressed  thereby,  and  due  honor  shown  the  dead.  Ground 
for  the  burial  has  been  secured.  It  is  assumed  that  I  am  ex- 
pected by  the  department  to  bury  the  dead  here.  In  fact,  it 
would  be  impracticable  to  transport  remains  to  the  United 
States.  Means  and  facilities  are  lacking.  I  have  accepted 
the  offer  of  the  authorities,  and  there  will  be  a  public  funeral 
at  3  o'clock  to-day.  All  here  from  the  Maine  will  go ;  also  a 
delegation  from  the  Fern.  Fifteen  bodies  recovered  during 
operations.  [Further]  operations  prevented  by  rough  weather. 

On  the  afternoon  of  February  1 7,  funeral  ser- 
vices were  held  over  nineteen  bodies,  the  first 

1 06 


The  Explosion 

that  were  recovered.  It  was  only  necessary  for 
the  officers  of  the  Maine  to  attend  the  funeral  as 
mourners  for  the  dead.  We  were  notified  that 
we  were  to  appear  at  three  o'clock  at  the  muni- 
cipal palace,  which  forms  part  of  the  building  in 
which  the  government  of  the  island  is  quartered, 
and  in  which  the  captain -general  has  his  resi- 
dence. On  entering  one  of  the  state  apartments, 
we  found  nineteen  coffins,  covered  with  mourn- 
ing emblems  of  various  kinds  and  from  all  classes 
of  people,  bearing  the  names  of  individuals 
and  organizations  —  civic,  military,  and  naval. 
No  greater  demonstration  of  sympathy  could 
have  been  made. 

At  the  gathering  in  the  municipal  palace  I 
conversed  with  Dr.  Congosto,  and  asked  him  to 
present  me  to  the  Bishop  of  Havana.  Appre- 
ciating the  sentiments  of  the  relatives  of  those 
who  were  lost,  I  had  previously  asked  Chaplain 
Chidwick  if  some  arrangement  could  not  be 
made  whereby  prayers  might  be  read  over  the 
Protestant  dead  by  a  Protestant  clergyman  or 
by  myself.  He  had  referred  the  question  to  the 
bishop,  who  had  politely  negatived  the  proposi- 
tion. I  did  not  like  this,  because  I  desired  to  do 
everything  in  my  power  to  comfort  the  families 
and  friends  of  the  deceased  men ;  therefore, 
when  I  was  presented  to  the  bishop,  I  renewed 
my  request,  with  a  statement  of  the  difficulties  of 

107 


The  "Maine" 

the  case.  The  bishop  was  very  kind,  but  had  to 
regret  his  inability  to  concede  the  point.  I  was 
much  disturbed  ;  in  fact,  I  was  indignant,  for  my 
mood  in  the  presence  of  those  coffins  was  one 
requiring  great  effort  at  self-repression  ;  there- 
fore I  remarked  to  Dr.  Congosto  that  if  I  had 
been  fully  prepared  for  a  refusal  I  should  prob- 
ably not  have  felt  free  to  accept  the  offer  of  the 
Spanish  authorities  to  take  charge  of  the  funeral 
ceremonies  —  that  I  should  have  preferred  to 
take  them  under  my  own  charge,  in  such  a  way 
that  I  could  have  given  to  each  creed  freedom 
to  bury  its  dead  after  its  own  forms.  In  this 
I  was  doubtless  lacking  in  tact.  Nevertheless  I 
was  sincere.  My  position,  sentimentally,  was  so 
difficult  that  I  felt  that  I  could  speak  plainly  to 
Dr.  Congosto,  who,  as  I  have  already  said,  had 
lived  in  the  United  States.  In  my  opinion,  the 
Bishop  of  Havana  and  Chaplain  Chidwick  were 
quite  acceptable  to  officiate  at  the  grave  of  any 
Christian  :  but  this  was  not  a  matter  for  my 
opinion  alone ;  others  were  to  be  considered. 
Having  failed  in  my  second  request,  I  next  re- 
quested that  Chaplain  Chidwick  might  officiate 
at  the  grave.  This  was  promptly  granted.  I 
had  brought  to  the  palace  an  Episcopal  prayer- 
book,  which  I  had  procured  at  the  last  minute, 
intending  to  read  the  service  myself,  for  no  Prot- 

108 


-   1    I     f 

LI  VI  Idlfli 


FUNEKAL  OF  NINETEEN   OF  THE  "MAINE'S"  DEAD,   FROM  THE 
MUNICIPAL  PALACE,  HAVANA. 


The  Explosion 

estant  clergyman  could  be  found  in  Havana;  and, 
in  fact,  I  did  read  the  service,  a  part  at  a  time,  as 
opportunity  offered,  chiefly  in  the  carriage  on  the 
way  to  the  cemetery,  and  afterward  in  my  room 
at  the  hotel. 

The  funeral  cortege  was  very  imposing.  In 
addition  to  the  hearses,  there  were  many  car- 
riages and  also  a  large  military,  naval,  and  civic 
escort,  provided  by  the  Spaniards.  Even  the 
poor  reconcentrados  were  in  line.  No  such  dem- 
onstration had  been  made  in  Havana  for  very 
many  years ;  in  fact,  I  was  informed  that  it  had 
not  been  paralleled,  except  in  one  instance,  in  the 
history  of  Havana.  The  Bishop  of  Havana  went 
to  the  cemetery  in  person,  which,  I  was  also  in- 
formed, was  a  most  unusual  mark  of  sympathy. 
As  the  procession  passed  through  the  streets  it 
seemed  that  all  the  people  of  Havana  were  pres- 
ent along  the  route,  in  respectful  sympathy. 
At  a  certain  point  the  carriages  were  stopped; 
the  occupants  alighted  and  marched,  as  an  addi- 
tional act  of  respect,  for  some  distance,  when 
they  again  entered  the  carriages  and  proceeded 
therein  through  the  suburbs  to  the  Colon  Ceme- 
tery, one  of  the  most  beautiful  that  I  have  ever 
seen.  The  carriages  were  left  just  within  the 
entrance,  and  the  procession  continued  to  the 
grave  on  foot. 

109 


The  "Maine" 

After  the  burial  I  again  presented  myself  to 
the  bishop,  and  apologized  for  having  made  a 
request  which  could  not  meet  his  approval.  I 
thanked  him  for  his  sympathy  and  kindness,  and 
assured  him  that  I  believed  he  had  gone  to  the 
utmost  limits  of  his  authority.  He  replied  that 
he  had  done  all  that  he  could,  and  drew  attention 
to  the  fact  that  he  had  buried  all  of  the  Maine's 
men  in  the  same  plot  of  ground,  without  respect 
to  creed,  Protestant  or  Catholic.  It  was  quite 
true,  and  the  ground  was  given  for  all  time  to 
the  United  States,  without  expense.  After  the 
funeral,  I  sent  the  following  telegram  to  the  Navy 
Department: 

Nineteen  of  Maine's  dead  were  buried  this  afternoon,  with 
great  civil,  ecclesiastical,  naval,  and  military  ceremonies,  and 
with  all  the  resources  of  Havana  brought  into  requisition. 
The  Spanish  government,  under  express  directions  of  General 
Blanco,  the  Bishop  of  Havana,  General  Parrado,  Admiral 
Manterola,  and  the  mayor  of  Havana,  took  complete  charge 
of  all  arrangements.  The  bodies  were  first  laid  in  state  in  the 
building  of  the  civil  government  of  Havana,  where  they  were 
covered  with  floral  and  other  emblems  suitable  to  the  occa- 
sion, which  were  presented  by  officials  and  other  persons  of 
Havana,  of  all  shades  of  political  opinion.  They  were 
escorted  to  the  cemetery  by  representatives  of  all  military, 
naval,  and  civil  organizations,  and  foreign  consular  officers, 
and  through  a  vast  concourse  of  people  spreading  over  the 
route.  General  Lee,  myself,  and  officers  and  men  of  the 
Maine  now  here,  together  with  Lieutenant- Commander 

I  IO 


The  Explosion 

Cowles  and  members  of  the  Fern's  crew,  were  given  special 
carriages  and  conveniences.  Ground  for  the  burial  of  all  the 
Maine's  dead  has  been  presented  by  General  Blanco  and  the 
Bishop  of  Havana.  The  utmost  sympathy  and  respect  have 
been  shown.  I  am  informed  by  the  authorities  that  this  is  the 
second  instance  only  of  such  a  demonstration  having  been 
shown  to  foreigners  in  the  history  of  Havana.  It  is  incon- 
ceivable that  a  greater  demonstration  could  have  been  made. 
To  me  personally  a  great  number  of  people  have  expressed 
sympathy  for  the  Maine  and  for  the  United  States  government 
and  people.  The  remainder  of  the  dead  must,  perforce,  be 
buried  with  brief  ceremony,  which  will  be  conducted  by  our- 
selves, but  the  care  and  preparation  of  the  remains  will  be  with 
the  Spanish  authorities.  About  forty  in  addition  to  those  buried 
have  come  ashore  to-day.  Very  few  are  now  recognizable. 
Even  in  the  case  of  some  of  those  who  are  hurt,  but  live,  recog- 
nition is  difficult.  I  have  not  for  a  moment  lost  sight  of  the 
grief  of  the  families  and  friends  of  the  members  of  my  crew,  but 
I  beg  the  department  to  explain  to  them  that  it  is  impracticable, 
in  fact  impossible,  to  send  bodies  home.  Facilities  are  lack- 
ing, and  embalmment  is  necessary  to  secure  shipment,  even 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  Embalming  is  only 
imperfectly  done  here.  Will  wire  all  cases  of  identification. 
I  maintain  organization  among  my  small  force  here,  but  it  can 
be  well  understood  that  the  execution  of  the  work  with  which 
we  are  charged  is  one  of  much  detail  and  difficult  of  execu- 
tion. It  is  believed  that  all  of  the  department's  telegrams 
have  reached  me.  I  am  deeply  grateful  for  the  helpful 
sentiments  and  directions  telegraphed  by  the  President  and 
the  department.  I  have  the  earnest  help  of  all  the  officers  of 
the  Maine  now  here,  which  was  to  be  expected  under  all  cir- 
cumstances. A  previous  telegram  sent  to-day  gives  the  names 
of  those  buried  by  the  Spanish  authorities.  The  flags  of  all 
vessels,  naval  and  merchant,  in  Havana  harbor  have  been  at 

III 


The  "  Maine  " 

half-mast  yesterday  and  to-day.  Shall  send  Mangrove  back 
to  Key  West  to-morrow  with  eight  wounded.  Will  wire 
names  later.  Dr.  Clendenin  of  the  army  will  remain  with  the 
wounded.  Assistant  Surgeon  Spear  also  came  with  the  Man- 
grove, but  will  be  detained  here  on  board  the  Fern,  to  accom- 
pany others  of  the  wounded  when  they  are  ready  to  be 
removed.  Will  put  some  divers  at  work  to-morrow.  Divers 
requested  of  Admiral  Sicard  will  be  here  Saturday  morning 
by  the  Olivette.  Recovery  of  Maine's  battery  impracticable, 
except  by  regular  wrecking  outfit. 

The  burial  of  those  nineteen  men  ended  the 
official  demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  Span- 
iards, which  was  proper.  Thereafter,  having 
been  furnished  the  facilities  for  subsequent  buri- 
als, we  were  allowed  to  proceed  in  our  own  way. 
Chaplain  Chidwick,  assisted  by  a  most  devoted 
and  kind-hearted  undertaker,  a  Spaniard,  identi- 
fied the  bodies,  and  saw  them  prepared  for  the 
grave.  After  that  he  conducted  the  burials  so 
long  as  we  continued  to  inter  the  bodies  at 
Havana.  When  it  became  possible  to  forward 
them  to  Key  West  by  steamer,  they  were  sent 
in  that  way  and  buried  at  Key  West.  Surgeon 
Heneberger  gave  his  attention  to  the  wounded 
and  to  mortuary  statistics,  while  Paymaster  Ray 
quietly,  and  with  the  greatest  promptness,  man- 
aged the  financial  intricacies  of  the  situation. 

I  felt  that  I  took  upon  myself  a  great  moral 
responsibility  in  burying  the  Maine 's  dead  at 

112 


The  Explosion 

Havana;  but  in  the  tropics  it  was  necessary  to 
bury  the  dead  very  promptly,  which  may  well  be 
imagined.  Fault  was  found  with  me  on  some 
sides  by  a  few  patriotic  citizens  of  the  United 
States  for  permitting  the  Spanish  authorities  to 
bury  our  dead ;  but  I  thought  that  I  knew  the 
administration  of  our  government  and  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  well  enough  to  count  on 
their  approval  of  my  course  as  the  only  one  prac- 
ticable in  the  circumstances  in  which  we  were 
so  unfortunately  placed.  Results  showed  that  I 
was  not  mistaken. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  American 
mind  to  comprehend  certain  subsequent  proceed- 
ings of  the  Spanish  officials.  It  can  be  explained 
only  on  the  ground  that  Spanish  authority  in 
Cuba  has  so  long  been  dominant  and  exacting 
that  Spanish  officials  do  not  know  how  to  un- 
bend in  a  practical  way,  as  we  understand  it, 
however  much  they  may  concede  in  the  way  of 
sentiment  and  sympathy.  I  have  stated  that  on 
the  night  of  the  disaster  I  requested  the  captain 
of  the  cruiser  Alfonso  XII  to  place  patrol-boats 
about  the  Maine  to  guard  her  from  intrusion. 
The  request  was  complied  with,  and  thereafter, 
for  many  days,  the  Spanish  boats  kept  up  their 
patrol.  Nobody  was  allowed  to  approach  the 
wreck  without  proper  authority ;  but  at  first  their 


The  "  Maine  " 

vigilance  extended,  adversely,  even  to  the  cap- 
tain and  officers  of  the  Maine. 

On  the  first  or  second  day  after  the  explosion, 
I  myself  attempted  to  go  on  board  the  wreck. 
I  was  stopped  by  a  Spanish  patrol-boat,  which 
refused  to  allow  me  on  board,  even  when  it  was 
explained  that  I  was  the  captain  of  the  Maine. 
My  first  impulse  was  to  ignore  the  boats  and 
force  a  passage  on  board  ;  but,  on  second  thought, 
I  went  on  board  the  Alfonso  XII,  and  suggested 
to  her  captain  that  the  Spanish  boats  had  mis- 
conceived their  orders,  since  they  had  declined 
to  allow  me  to  board  the  wreck.  The  captain 
explained  that  it  was  simply  a  matter  of  identi- 
fication, and  that  he  would  give  me  certain  passes 
for  myself  and  officers  whereby  I  could  pass  the 
patrol.  I  approved  this  plan  on  the  ground  that, 
having  asked  him  to  set  the  patrol,  it  was  only 
proper  that  I  should  support  him  in  demanding 
complete  identification.  But  I  could  not  under- 
stand why  passes  had  not  been  sent  me  before. 

Shortly  afterward  I  became  very  much  con- 
cerned at  the  slow  recovery  of  bodies.  It  was 
evident  that  many  were  down  in  the  wreck.  I 
knew  that  relatives  and  friends  would  be  urgent 
at  the  Navy  Department,  and  it  was  very  neces- 
sary to  respect  their  sentiments.  I  felt  it  very 
keenly.  At  the  American  consulate  I  had  met 

114 


The  Explosion 

certain  Cuban  divers,  and  arranged  that  they 
should  visit  me  the  next  day  with  a  view  to  go- 
ing down  in  the  Maine  for  the  recovery  of  bodies. 
These  divers  afterward  disposed  of  their  services 
to  an  American  newspaper  correspondent,  who 
visited  me  in  their  company.  He  offered  —  as  I 
then  knew,  by  direction  of  his  paper  —  to  send 
down  the  divers  entirely  at  the  expense  of  his 
paper,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  recovering  the 
dead.  I  suspected  at  the  time  that  his  paper 
had  directed  him  to  make  an  investigation 
of  the  wreck  of  the  Maine.  Of  course  I  de- 
clined any  effort  to  anticipate  the  official  inves- 
tigation ;  but  finally,  when  the  correspondent 
surrendered  his  divers  to  me  and  placed  them 
absolutely  under  my  direction,  I  sent  them  over 
to  the  wreck  with  an  officer,  with  instructions  to 
allow  them  to  make  a  descent,  under  his  super- 
intendence, for  the  sole  purpose  of  recovering 
bodies.  The  party  was  stopped  by  the  Spanish 
boats  with  the  remark  that  "no  American  diver 
could  go  down  without  a  Spanish  diver,  and  no 
Spanish  diver  without  an  American  diver." 

I  also  was  not  allowed  to  go  on  board  to  hoist 
the  national  ensign.  This  was  taking  charge 
of  matters  unjustifiably.  In  respect  to  these 
several  hindrances,  I  had  received  no  notifica- 
tion in  advance.  However  grateful  I  was  for 


The  "  Maine  " 

the  good  offices  of  the  Spanish  officials,  I  could 
not  concede  such  a  state  of  things.  Shortly 
after  these  incidents,  and  while  I  was  preparing 
to  visit  the  Alfonso  XII  to  protest,  her  captain 
chanced  to  come  aboard  the  Fern  to  make  a 
return  visit  of  ceremony,  I  believe,  to  that  ves- 
sel's commander,  Lieu  tenant- Commander  Cowles. 
I  stated  the  case  to  the  Spanish  captain,  and 
asked  if  the  Spanish  boatmen  had  miscon- 
strued his  orders.  He  was  requested  to  take 
such  measures  as  would  insure  me  thereafter 
access  to  the  wreck  of  the  Maine  without  any 
interference,  on  the  presentation  of  a  pass  or 
identification  paper.  He  was  somewhat  embar- 
rassed, and  courteously  explained  that  he  was 
obeying  the  orders  of  Admiral  Manterola,  to 
whom  I  should  appeal.  I  assured  him  that  I 
fully  realized  that  he  must  obey  his  orders,  and 
said  that  I  would  carry  the  case  higher.  Then 
the  conversation  was  changed  to  more  agreeable 
topics. 

It  was  not  my  intention  to  apply  to  the  Ad- 
miral, because  I  felt  that  the  case  should  be 
taken  from  the  hands  of  subordinates.  The 
matter  was  reported  to  General  Lee,  who  made 
an  appointment  for  us  with  Captain  and  Gov- 
ernor-General Blanco.  When  we  visited  Gen- 
eral Blanco,  there  were  present,  besides  himself, 


The  Explosion 

only  Dr.  Congosto,  General  Lee,  and  myself. 
General  Lee  recited  the  circumstances  to  which 
I  have  already  referred ;  he  did  it  gravely  and 
with  due  composure.  Although  outwardly  com- 
posed, I  was  naturally  indignant  that  an  officer 
in  my  difficult  position  should  be  hedged  in  with 
vexatious  restrictions,  and  determined  to  demand 
that  they  be  ended.  I  suggested  to  General 
Lee  that  I,  as  a  naval  officer,  understood  inter- 
national comity  as  applying  to  my  command,  for 
which  reason  I  hoped  that  he  would  trust  me 
to  state  my  view  of  the  case.  He  at  once 
complied. 

I  then  reminded  General  Blanco,  through  Dr. 
Congosto,  who  acted  as  interpreter,  that  the 
Maine  had  entered  the  port  of  Havana  with,  at 
least,  the  implied  assent  of  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment; that  having  so  entered,  she  was  con- 
structively under  the  protection  of  the  Spanish 
government  and  entitled  to  extraterritorial  cour- 
tesy and  to  exemptions  from  local  jurisdiction 
and  control,  as  recognized  in  international  law. 
So  far  as  her  internal  affairs  were  concerned,  she 
was  entitled,  under  international  usage  and  cour- 
tesy, to  be  considered  a  part  of  the  territory  of 
her  own  country,  and  under  the  direction  of  her 
own  commanding  officer,  who  was  responsible 
to  his  government.  Nevertheless,  an  attempt 

117 


The  "Maine" 

had  been  made  to  keep  me  out  of  my  command 
while  my  pennant  was  flying  at  the  masthead ; 
and  Admiral  Manterola  had  undertaken  to  say 
when  I  could  or  could  not  be  permitted  to  visit 
my  command.  I  stated  further  that  so  long  as 
my  pennant  flew  I  could  yield  no  part  of  my 
responsibility  without  orders,  and  I  hoped  he 
would  remove  restrictions. 

General  Blanco  urged  that  there  should  be  a 
joint  investigation  ;  that  a  Spanish  law  required 
a  Spanish  investigation,  and  Spanish  honor  was 
involved.  To  which  I  replied  that  I  recognized 
that  the  Spanish  government  had  a  moral  right 
to  investigate  the  loss  of  the  Maine,  but  that  any 
investigation  by  the  Spanish  government  within 
the  ship  should,  properly,  be  pursued  after  an 
appeal  directly  to  the  United  States  government. 
I  said  that  although  I  did  not  believe  the  United 
States  would  consent  to  a  joint  investigation,  it 
was  probable  that  the  government  would  desire 
that  Spain  should  have  an  opportunity  to  make 
an  independent  investigation. 

General  Lee  took  the  same  ground,  and  en- 
tered into  the  discussion  generally.  We  both 
agreed  that  we  should  take  pleasure  in  approv- 
ing to  the  United  States  government  an  inde- 
pendent investigation  by  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment. General  Blanco  yielded  with  the  remark 


The  Explosion 

that,  if  the  interior  of  the  vessel  was  subject 
to  the  control  of  the  United  States,  the  outside 
was  under  the  control  of  Spain.  I  then  said  that 
I  should  refrain  from  exploring  the  harbor.  Dr. 
Congosto  replied  with  some  spirit,  "  You  may, 
if  you  like."  Knowing  that  the  remark  should 
not  be  taken  seriously,  I  again  disclaimed  any 
intention  of  pursuing  our  operations  into  the 
region  surrounding  the  Maine. 

The  interview  was  ended  pleasantly  with  the 
promise  of  General  Blanco  to  issue  immediate 
orders  to  Admiral  Manterola  to  give  me  access 
to  the  Maine  thereafter.  That  day  the  United 
States  national  ensign  was  hoisted,  and  then 
hauled  down  to  half-mast,  where  it  remained 
always,  day  and  night,  during  the  remainder  of 
my  stay  at  Havana.  The  ensign  on  board  a 
national  ship  is  hauled  down  at  sundown,  and  is 
not  again  hoisted  until  eight  o'clock  the  follow- 
ing morning.  Since  the  Maine  was  blown  up  at 
9:40  P.  M.,  it  is  apparent  why  her  flag  was  not  up 
until  I  hoisted  it  on  that  occasion.  In  keeping 
it  up,  day  and  night,  I  desired  to  make  it  clear 
that  interference  with  the  ship  was  interference 
with  the  flag.  Most  of  the  photographs  of  the 
wreck  of  the  Maine  show  the  flag  at  half-mast. 

The  incident  which  I  have  related  made  my 
position  stronger  thereafter,  so  far  as  pertained 


The  "Maine" 

to  my  own  control  of  the  Maine.  It  was  not 
again  questioned  until  just  before  my  departure 
from  Havana. 

Notwithstanding  the  sympathy  with  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  Maine  evinced  in  Havana,  the 
local  press  was  not  friendly.  Certain  papers 
made  petty  and  unfavorable  remarks  about  me, 
quite  different  from  those  in  the  press  of  the 
United  States  in  respect  to  Captain  Eulate  per- 
sonally, when  the  Vizcaya  visited  New  York, 
while  the  excitement  over  the  loss  of  the  Maine 
was  at  its  highest.  On  the  other  hand,  a  part 
of  our  press  was  merciless  toward  the  Spaniards 
generally,  and  this  did  not  tend  to  make  more 
comfortable  the  position  of  the  survivors  of  the 
Maine  at  Havana.  There  was  reason  to  believe 
that  the  tone  of  these  papers  was  galling  to  the 
Spaniards. 

At  the  funeral  of  nineteen  men  of  the  Maine 
on  February  19,  I  had  worn  a  civilian's  sack  suit. 
I  had  nothing  else.  Lieutenant-Commander 
Cowles  of  the  Fern  was  in  uniform,  and  quite 
generally  passed  as  Captain  Sigsbee.  One  of  the 
Havana  papers  —  one  can  hardly  say  newspapers 
—  made  a  sneering  comment,  even  at  that  time, 
at  my  having  appeared  in  uniform,  although  my 
uniform  had  been  reported  lost.  The  Spanish 
press  has  persisted  in  declaring  that  I  and  many 

120 


The  Explosion 

other  officers  of  the  Maine  were  not  on  board  at 
the  time  of  the  explosion.  Spanish  officials 
everywhere  in  Havana  knew  to  the  contrary.  I 
have  been  informed  that  a  Spanish  officer,  on 
the  eve  of  leaving  the  United  States,  where  he 
had  been  a  prisoner,  having  been  captured  in 
honorable  fight,  thought  fit  to  assert  that  I  had 
wept  in  Havana,  and  deplored  the  ending  of  my 
naval  career.  The  report  seems  incredible,  and 
it  would  be  undignified  to  deny  so  absurd  a 
statement.  My  own  reserve  heretofore  has  not 
failed  of  appreciation  on  the  Spanish  side.  After 
the  war  was  opened,  a  Spanish  officer  of  high 
rank  at  Havana  sent  me  his  kind  regards  by 
returned  prisoners. 

On  February  20  I  visited  the  San  Ambrosio 
Hospital  to  see  the  wounded  men.  There  had 
been  some  cases  of  yellow  fever  at  the  hospital, 
and  we  felt  concern  at  that  fact,  but  there  was 
probably  no  hospital  in  Havana  where  yellow 
fever  had  not  been  present  at  one  time  or 
another. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Spaniards 
gave  us  the  benefit  of  the  best  they  had  at  their 
disposal.  To  enter  the  ward  where  our  men 
were  installed  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through 
a  ward  of  Spanish  invalids,  many  of  whom  ap- 
peared to  be  convalescent.  At  the  entrance  of 

121 


The  "  Maine" 

the  ward  set  aside  for  our  use  there  was  exhibited 
a  characteristic  bit  of  Spanish  courtesy.  On  the 
wall  was  a  placard  demanding  that  all  who  en- 
tered that  room  should  remove  their  hats.  I 
visited  each  cot  and  talked  with  each  patient, 
asked  his  location  on  board  the  Maine  at  the 
time  of  the  explosion,  his  sensations  and  experi- 
ences, and  wished  him  speedy  recovery.  They 
seemed  delighted  to  welcome  me,  and  said 
pleasant  things,  in  forgetfulness  of  their  own 
sufferings.  At  that  hospital,  Andrew  V.  Erik- 
son,  seaman,  and  Carl  A.  Smith,  seaman,  had 
died  on  the  i8th,  Alfred  J.  Holland,  cockswain, 
on  the  1 9th,  and  Harry  Jectson,  seaman,  and 
Frank  Fisher,  ordinary  seaman,  on  the  day  of 
my  visit.  George  A.  Koebler,  apprentice,  first- 
class,  and  Frederick  C.  Holzer,  ordinary  seaman, 
both  young  and  excellent  men,  were  very  low. 

Koebler  was  a  handsome,  cheery,  willing,  and 
capable  apprentice,  equally  a  pronounced  favor- 
ite forward  and  aft.  When  there  was  doubt  as 
to  the  proper  man  to  employ  for  any  confidential 
service,  young  Koebler  was  generally  selected. 
He  was  in  everything  that  was  going  on,  on 
board  the  Maine,  and  had  lately  been  married 
in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  It  was  his  habit  to 
come  to  me  occasionally  and  ask  my  advice  in 
his  private  affairs.  I  found  that  he  accepted 

122 


The  Explosion 

it  and  acted  upon  it.  He  was  delirious  during 
my  visit,  but  in  some  way  became  aware  of 
my  presence  as  soon  as  I  entered  the  ward. 
He  kept  calling  for  me,  so  I  visited  him  out  of 
his  regular  turn.  Imagining  that  the  Maine 
was  to  go  to  New  Orleans  and  leave  him  at  the 
hospital,  he  declared  that  he  was  able  to  go  on 
board,  that  it  was  not  right  to  leave  him  there, 
and  appealed  to  me  to  take  him  with  me.  But 
he  became  perfectly  quiet  and  resigned  when  I 
assured  him  that  the  Maine  should  never  leave 
Havana  without  him.  It  was  very  affecting. 
Poor  fellow  !  he  died  on  the  22d. 

Holzer  seemed  in  better  condition  than  Koeb- 
ler,  and  gave  us  the  hope  that  he  would  recover. 
His  mind  was  clear.  When  I  took  his  hand  he 
said  :  "  Captain,  I  'm  sorry  such  bad  luck  has 
come  upon  you."  I  replied :  "  Thank  you,  Hol- 
zer ;  I  fear  you  have  sailed  with  the  wrong  cap- 
tain this  time."  He  disputed  the  point  with  such 
nice  consideration  that  my  hope  for  him  was 
strengthened,  but  he  died  on  the  25th.  Holzer 
was  Chaplain  Chidwick's  assistant  at  religious 
services ;  the  chaplain  had  a  high  regard  for  him, 
and  felt  his  loss  keenly,  as  we  all  did. 

It  was  not  until  February  23  that  I  managed 
to  read  newspapers  from  the  United  States.  The 
tone  of  the  press  toward  me  and  the  officers  and 

123 


The  "  Maine" 

men  surprised  and  pleased  me.  It  was  sympa- 
thetic and  commendatory,  and  without  rebuke. 
The  importance  attached  to  my  first  telegram 
was  far  beyond  my  anticipation.  Although  I 
had  hoped  that  some  good  effect  might  flow 
from  the  despatch,  it  had  not  entered  my  mind 
that  it  would  reflect  on  me  in  a  laudatory  sense. 
It  was  hardly  possible  that  a  captain  who  had  just 
lost  his  ship  should  look  further  than  exoneration 
so  soon  afterward. 


124 


Ill 

THE  WRECKING  AND    THE   INQUIRY 

MUCH  interest  was  excited  by  the  arrival 
in  Havana  of  the  first  lot  of  American 
newspapers  received  after  the  loss  of  the  Maine. 
A  Spanish  officer  of  high  rank  whom  I  visited 
showed  me  a  New  York  paper  of  February  17  in 
which  was  pictured  the  Maine  anchored  over  a 
mine.  On  another  page  was  a  plan  showing 
wires  leading  from  the  Maine  to  the  shore.  The 
officer  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  that.  It  was 
explained  that  we  had  no  censorship  in  the  United 
States ;  that  each  person  applied  his  own  criti- 
cism to  what  he  saw  and  read  in  the  papers. 
Apparently  the  Spanish  officer  could  not  grasp 
the  idea.  The  interview  was  not  at  all  un- 
friendly, and  he  took  it  in  good  part  when  it  was 
pointed  out  that  the  Havana  newspapers  were 
very  unfair  toward  me,  without  respect  to  my 
situation  in  their  port.  I  asserted  that  if  the 

125 


The  "Maine" 

American  newspapers  gave  more  than  the  news, 
the  Spanish  newspapers  gave  less  than  the  news : 
it  was  a  question  of  choice. 

When  the  Spanish  officer  reverted  to  those 
illustrations  of  the  Maine,  I  argued  in  this  wise : 
The  Maine  blew  up  at  9  :  40  P.  M.  on  the  1 5th  ;  the 
news  reached  the  United  States  very  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  1 6th.  This  newspaper  went  to 
press  about  3  A.  M.  on  the  morning  of  the  1 7th. 
It  took  time  to  draw  those  pictures  and  repro- 
duce them.  The  inference  was  clear :  the  news- 
paper must  have  been  possessed  of  a  knowledge 
of  the  mine  before  the  Maine  was  blown  up. 
Therefore  it  disturbed  me  to  guess  why  I  had 
not  been  told  of  the  danger.  This  had  the 
required  effect,  and  the  newspaper  was  dropped 
out  of  the  conversation. 

The  American  newspaper  correspondent  in 
Havana  was  a  bugaboo  to  the  Spaniards,  from 
the  censor  to  others  all  along  the  line.  Nobody 
but  the  censor  seemed  to  be  able  to  stop  him, 
and  even  the  censor  could  not  control  more  than 
the  cable  despatches.  I  remember  that  one  cor- 
respondent complained  that  he  was  not  allowed 
to  say  that  Captain  Sigsbee  was  reticent.  He 
was  made  to  say  that  Captain  Sigsbee  was  re- 
served. The  censor  thought  it  a  question  of 
courtesy.  The  correspondents  were  active,  ener- 

126 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 


getic,  and  even  aggressive  in  their  efforts  to 
get  all  the  news.  The  people  of  the  United 
States  demanded  the  news,  and  they  got  it. 
It  was  soon  plain  to  me  that  the  correspond- 
ents were  under  strict  orders  from  their  pa- 
pers—  orders  more  mandatory  and  difficult  of 
execution  than  those  commonly  issued  in  the 
naval  service.  Very  early 
I  applied  a  certain  rule 
of  conduct  to  these  gentle- 
men, and  it  worked  to  per- 
fection. I  never  impugned 
their  motives,  nor  denied 
myself  to  them  when  it  was 
possible  to  see  them,  never 
misled  them,  nor  gave  any 
one  correspondent  the  "  start 
in  the  running."  If  I  had 
news  that  could  properly  be  given,  I  gave  it.  If 
what  I  knew  could  not  be  given,  I  so  informed 
them  frankly.  I  could  not  give  "  interviews." 
My  acquaintanceship  extended  to  every  Ameri- 
can correspondent  in  Havana.  No  more  sincere 
sympathy,  consideration,  and  forbearance  were 
shown  me  than  by  these  correspondents.  Dur- 
ing the  sittings  of  the  court  of  inquiry,  when  I 
could  not  properly  converse  on  the  subject  of 
the  investigations,  I  gave  them  no  word  of 

127 


8DRVIVOHS  AT  THE  HOS- 
PITAL,     KEY       WEST, 
MAKING    THE    INI- 
TIAL    OP      TIIE 
LOST       SHIP. 


The  "  Maine" 

news,  which  they  were  under  extreme  pres- 
sure to  provide.  Their  approval  in  the  matter 
was  expressed  both  sentimentally  and  tangibly 
when  I  was  leaving  Havana,  of  which  more 
later. 

Every  mail  brought  me  many  letters  from  the 
United  States  and  abroad.  In  the  aggregate 
there  were  hundreds  of  them.  More  than  half 
were  letters  of  approval  and  commendation. 
Many  were  from  the  families  of  the  dead  and 
wounded  men.  The  latter  were  answered  at 
once ;  the  former  so  far  as  opportunity  permitted, 
but  many  remain  unanswered  because  of  the  con- 
stant emergency,  both  great  and  small,  that  has 
pressed  upon  me  since  the  loss  of  the  Maine. 
I  read  every  letter  from  mourning  relatives, 
but  the  harrowing  nature  of  their  contents 
made  it  absolutely  impossible  for  me  to  answer 
them  personally,  burdened  as  I  was  by  urgent 
and  unwonted  duties.  It  was  touching  to  note 
that  most  of  them  contained  apologies  for  ap- 
pealing to  me  while  I  was  pressed  with  other 
duties.  They  were  indorsed  with  suitable  di- 
rections as  to  writing  or  telegraphing,  and  then 
given  over  to  Chaplain  Chidwick  and  Naval  Ca- 
det Holden  for  reply.  From  what  I  have  writ- 
ten, it  may  be  inferred  that  Chaplain  Chidwick 
did  this  duty  thoroughly  well.  So  did  Mr.  Hol- 

128 


KNSIGN    \V    V    N.  TOWKLSON,  0.  8.  X. 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

den ;  he  was  my  right  hand,  in  many  ways,  at 
Havana,  and  saved  me  much  work  and  anxiety. 
His  judgment,  ability,  and  sense  of  duty  and  loy- 
alty were  strikingly  admirable.  He  is  one  of  the 
best  examples  of  what  the  Naval  Academy  can 
produce  when  the  basic  material  is  of  the  right 
kind. 

My  personal  relations  with  General  Blanco  and 
Admiral  Manterola,  and,  in  fact,  with  all  the 
Spanish  officials,  remained  cordial  until  the  last ; 
there  was  no  interruption  whatever.  Soon  after 
the  explosion  I  received  a  personal  visit  from 
Admiral  Manterola  at  the  Hotel  Inglaterra.  He 
was  accompanied  by  his  aide,  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Spanish  navy.  Our  interpreter  was  a  very  intel- 
ligent clerk  of  the  hotel,  Mr.  Gonzales.  Admiral 
Manterola  had  ordered  an  inquiry,  on  the  part  of 
the  Spanish  government,  into  the  cause  of  the 
explosion.  We  talked  freely,  because  I  desired 
to  let  it  be  known  that  I  had  no  fear  of  an  inves- 
tigation, and  believed  that  the  United  States 
would  be  impartial. 

The  admiral  assumed  from  the  first  that  the 
explosion  was  from  the  interior  of  the  vessel.  He 
asked  if  the  dynamo-boilers  had  not  exploded. 
I  told  him  we  had  no  dynamo-boilers.  He  said 
that  the  plans  of  the  vessel,  as  published,  showed 
that  the  guncotton  store-room,  or  magazine,  was 
9  129 


The  "  Maine" 

forward  near  the  zone  of  the  explosion.  He  was 
informed  that  those  plans  had  been  changed,  and 
that  the  guncotton  was  stowed  aft,  under  the 
captain's  cabin,  where  the  vessel  was  virtually 
intact.  He  pointed  out  that  modern  gunpowders 
were  sometimes  very  unstable.  This  was  met 
by  the  remark  that  our  powder  was  of  the  old 
and  stable  brown  prismatic  kind,  and  that  we 
had  no  fancy  powder.  He  referred  to  the  prob- 
able effect  of  boilers,  lighted,  near  the  forward 
coal-bunkers,  which  were  adjacent  to  the  maga- 
zines. This  again  was  met  with  the  remark  that 
for  three  months  no  boiler  in  the  forward  boiler- 
compartment  had  been  lighted ;  that  while  in 
port  the  two  aftermost  boilers  in  the  ship  had 
been  doing  service. 

Apparently  Admiral  Manterola  was  not  in- 
clined to  accept  anything  but  an  interior  cause. 
I  remarked  that  our  own  investigation  would  be 
exhaustive,  and  that  every  possible  interior  cause 
would  be  included.  He  seemed  desirous  of 
knowing  the  tendency  of  my  views,  and  I  was 
equally  concerned  to  know  what  he  thought. 
I  ventured  to  say  that  a  few  persons  of  evil  dis- 
position, with  conveniences  at  hand,  if  so  inclined, 
could  have  blown  up  the  Maine  from  the  outside; 
that  there  were  bad  men  everywhere  as  well  as 
good  men.  He  turned  to  the  interpreter  and 

130 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

said  something  which  I  could  not  understand; 
evidently  he  did  not  like  that  view.  I  caught 
enough  of  the  interpreter's  protest  to  him,  and 
also  of  the  aide's,  to  understand  that  they  advised 
him  to  be  conciliatory  toward  me.  Their  glances 
were  directed  toward  him  to  the  same  effect.  I 
appeared  not  to  observe  anything  unusual,  but 
went  on  to  say  that  any  investigation  which  did 


KEY  BECOVEBED  FROM  THE  WBECK  OF  THE  "MAINE." 

not  consider  all  possible  exterior  causes,  as  well 
as  all  possible  interior  causes,  would  not  be 
accepted  as  exhaustive,  and  that  the  United 
States  government  would  not  come  to  any  con- 
clusion in  advance  as  to  whether  the  cause  was 
exterior  or  interior.  Admiral  Manterola  con- 
ceded the  point  very  politely,  and  soon  after  the 
visit  terminated  in  the  usual  friendly  way. 

On  the  afternoon  of  March  i  there  was  a  great 


The  "  Maine" 

demonstration  on  the  water  and  along  the  water- 
front. Aerial  bombs  were  thrown  up  for  some 
hours,  and  the  excitement  intensified  toward  sun- 
down. Shortly  after  sunset  the  Spanish  armored 
cruiser  Vizcaya  arrived  from  New  York.  Her 
entrance  excited  great  enthusiasm  among  the 
Spaniards.  Many  boats  and  steamers  were 
present  to  give  her  welcome.  There  were 
streamers  and  flags  flying  on  shore,  and  the 
wharves  were  crowded  with  people.  It  was 
reported  to  me  that  there  were  cries  of  "  Down 
with  the  Americans  ! "  It  was  different  from  an 
American  demonstration ;  it  was  childlike,  even 
pathetic.  Lieutenant-Commander  Cowles  of 
the  Fern  and  I  went  on  shore  in  the  thick  of 
the  crowd,  and,  pressing  through  the  narrow 
gateway  leading  from  the  Machina  to  the  city 
streets,  pursued  our  way  quite  as  usual.  After 
the  arrival  of  the  Vizcaya  Americans  at  Havana 
remained  serene  in  the  knowledge  of  that  fine 
fleet  over  at  Tortugas.  The  Maine  was  a  thing 
of  the  past,  but  the  fleet  was  a  thing  of  the 
future.  By  that  time  the  atmosphere  at  Havana 
was  waxing  volcanic  with  the  promise  of  war, 
but  the  Spaniards  apparently  gave  no  heed  to 
our  fleet,  which  could  then  have  destroyed 
Havana  in  short  order. 

Lieutenant-Commander  Cowles,  as  the  junior 

132 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

in  rank,  made  the  first  visit  of  ceremony  to  Cap- 
tain Eulate  of  the  Vizcaya,  and  informed  him 
that  I  was  quartered  on  board  the  Fern.  Cap- 
tain Eulate  then  visited  me  on  board.  I  was  in 
citizen's  clothes,  having  lost  all  my  uniforms.  A 
seaman  of  the  Fern  interpreted  for  us.  Captain 
Eulate  addressed  himself  chiefly  to  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Cowles  until  the  interpreter  chanced 
to  mention  my  name,  when  Captain  Eulate 
turned  in  surprise  and  asked  if  I  was  Captain 
Sigsbee  of  the  Maine.  He  took  in  the  situation 
at  once,  arose,  and,  with  an  exclamation,  threw 
his  arms  about  me  and  gave  expression  to  his 
sympathy.  He  afterward  spoke  pleasantly  of 
his  rather  extensive  acquaintance  with  United 
States  naval  officers. 

On  March  5  the  Spanish  armored  cruiser  Al- 
mirante  Oquendo,  a  sister  ship  of  the  Vizcaya, 
arrived  at  Havana  amid  demonstrations  similar 
to  those  which  had  greeted  the  Vizcaya.  Then 
the  Spanish  element  of  the  populace  was  steeped 
in  happiness  and  contentment.  The  lost  power 
of  the  sunken  Maine  was  manifestly  exceeded  by 
that  of  the  Spanish  ships.  Assuredly  there  was 
much  reason  for  their  exhibition  of  pride,  for  the 
Spanish  cruisers  were  fine  specimens  of  naval 
architecture.  They  were  visited  day  after  day 
by  the  people  of  Havana,  and  were,  therefore, 

133 


The  "  Maine" 

almost  constantly  surrounded  by  boats  during 
visiting-hours.  The  two  cruisers  were  much 
alike.  A  bead  or  molding  under  the  coat  of  arms 
on  the  stern  was  painted  black  on  one  and  yellow 
on  the  other,  and  this  was  about  as  striking 
a  distinction  as  could  be  observed.  Once  when 
I  remarked  to  Captain  Eulate  the  similarity,  he 
smiled  and  claimed  there  was  a  difference  in  his 
favor :  the  Vizcaya  had  a  silk  flag  and  some 
Galician  bagpipers,  which  the  Oquendo  had  not. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  Vizcaya  I  was  informed 
that  the  Fern  would  soon  leave  Havana  to  take 
food  to  the  reconcentrados  in  other  ports.  It 
was  intended  that  I  and  others,  including  the 
divers,  should  quarter  ourselves  aboard  the  Man- 
grove. I  reported  to  Rear-Admiral  Sicard  that 
the  Mangrove  had  not  quarters  sufficient  for  us.  It 
was  necessary  to  safeguard  the  health  of  the  divers 
very  carefully ;  their  work  in  the  foul  water  of 
the  harbor  compelled  this.  It  was  also  pointed 
out  that  I  would  be  left  without  uniformed 
officers  to  employ  for  naval  visits  and  courte- 
sies. Accordingly,  the  Montgomery,  Comman- 
der George  A.  Converse,  arrived  on  March  9,  to 
relieve  the  Fern,  which  left  the  same  day.  The 
Montgomery,  a  handsome  and  efficient  ship, 
presented  a  .fine  appearance  from  the  city. 

This  relief  of  vessels  gave  rise  to  an  incident 

134 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

which,  by  confusion,  has  produced  the  impres- 
sion, rather  wide-spread  in  the  United  States, 
that  the  Maine  s  berth  was  shifted  by  the  Spanish 
officials  after  her  arrival  at  Havana.  It  has 
already  been  stated  that  she  remained  con- 
tinuously at  the  same  mooring-buoy.  The  Fern 
had  been  lying  at  the  buoy  nearest  the  Machina 
and  the  wreck  of  the  Maine,  No.  4  of  Chart  307, 
the  same  that  had  served  for  the  Alfonso  XII 
prior  to  the  explosion.  In  expectation  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Montgomery,  the  Fern  had  procured 
a  pilot  in  the  forenoon  of  the  Qth.  The  prospec- 
tive coming  of  the  Montgomery  had  been  an- 
nounced to  the  Spanish  officials,  and  it  had  been 
arranged  with  the  pilot  that  the  Montgomery 
should  succeed  to  the  Fern's  buoy.  To  avoid  con- 
fusion, the  Fern  vacated  the  buoy  several  hours 
in  advance  and  rode  to  her  own  anchor  near  the 
wreck.  As  soon  as  she  had  shifted  her  berth,  a 
Spanish  naval  officer,  representing  the  captain  of 
the  port,  visited  the  Fern,  and  informed  me  that 
a  buoy  to  the  southward  of  the  wreck,  No.  6  of 
Chart  307,  would  be  given  to  the  Montgomery, 
as  the  Alfonso  XII  was  under  orders  from 
Admiral  Manterola  to  take  the  moorings  vacated 
by  the  Fern.  I  at  once  sent  an  officer  to  Admiral 
Manterola  with  a  note  requesting  that  the  Mont- 
gomery be  permitted  to  take  the  Fern's  buoy, — 

135 


The  "Maine" 

in  view  of  its  close  proximity  to  the  wreck,  —  if 
consistent  with  the  necessities  of  the  Spanish 
ship.  The  Alfonso  XII  reached  the  buoy  before 
the  officer  reached  the  admiral.  A  prompt  reply 
was  returned,  saying  that  the  change  had  been 
made  in  order  that  the  Spanish  cruiser  might  be 
near  the  Machina,  which  was  more  convenient 
for  the  prosecution  of  work  on  her  boilers,  but 
that  she  would  be  moved  back  if  I  so  desired. 
Before  I  could  make  known  my  wishes  the 
Alfonso  XII  hauled  off  and  took  another  berth. 
I  then  visited  Admiral  Manterola  personally,  and 
requested  that  the  Alfonso  XII  keep  the  Ferns 
buoy,  and  that  I  be  permitted  to  anchor  the 
Montgomery  where  the  Fern  was  then  lying. 
The  admiral  declined  to  entertain  the  proposi- 
tion, courteously  insisting  that  the  Montgomery 
should  have  the  desired  buoy.  He  stated  that 
the  captain  of  the  port  had  mistaken  his  orders, 
or  that  there  had  been  a  misunderstanding  of 
some  kind.  The  Montgomery  took  the  buoy 
when  she  arrived  later  in  the  day.  Frankly,  I 
preferred  that  buoy  for  the  further  reason  that  it 
had  been  used  for  the  Alfonso  XII,  from  which 
I  judged  that  the  berth  would  be  free  from 
harbor-defense  mines,  if  any  existed. 

I  had  received  no  assurance  that  the  harbor 
was  not  mined,  and  was  of  the  opinion  that  the 

136 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

Maine  had  been  blown  up  from  the  outside,  irre- 
spective of  any  attachment  of  culpability  to  the 
Spanish  authorities.  It  had  been  made  suffi- 
ciently plain  that  those  authorities  were  not 
taking  measures  to  safeguard  our  vessels.  There 
were  two  ways  of  regarding  this  omission :  first, 
that  they  believed  that  there  was  no  need  for 
safeguarding ;  secondly,  that  if  there  was  need, 
they  would  not,  as  a  question  of  policy,  seem  to 
make  the  admission.  The  proceedings  of  the 
Spanish  commission  to  investigate  the  loss  of 
the  Maine  show  that  Spanish  boats  kept  a 
patrol  about  the  floating  dry-dock.  It  would 
have  been  mincing  matters  to  infer  that  I  had 
not  the  right  to  act  in  all  proper  ways  according 
to  any  suspicions,  just  or  unjust.  The  situation 
in  which  I  found  myself  was  not  one  to  inspire  me 
with  perfect  trust  in  my  fellow-men.  There  being 
no  proof  of  culpability  in  any  direction,  suspicion 
was  the  logical  guide  to  precautionary  measures. 
I  regretted  the  assignment  of  so  valuable  a 
ship  as  the  Montgomery  to  service  in  Havana, 
notwithstanding  she  was  sent  to  support  me  in 
my  wishes  for  naval  environment.  The  Fern  was 
preferred  as  sufficiently  serving  the  purpose. 
However,  I  took  up  my  quarters  on  board  the 
Montgomery,  where  I  received  the  kind  atten- 
tions of  Commander  Converse. 

137 


The  "  Maine  " 

The  first  night  of  the  Montgomery  in  port  was 
marked  by  a  ludicrous  incident  —  ludicrous  in  the 
termination,  although  rather  serious  in  its  first 
stage  of  development.  About  8  P.  M.  Com- 
mander Converse  and  I  had  decided  to  go  in 
company  to  make  a  visit  of  courtesy  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  court  of  inquiry  on  board  the  Man- 
grove. The  gig  had  been  called  away  when 
Commander  Converse  informed  me  that  a  most 
remarkable  tapping  sound  had  been  reported 
from  the  lower  forward  compartments  of  the  ship, 
but  could  not  be  precisely  located.  We  were 
heading  to  the  eastward,  broadside  to  broadside 
with  the  Vizcaya,  which  was  on  our  port  beam 
and  very  near.  We  resolved  to  investigate. 
Coritinued  reports  were  demanded.  The  sound 
grew  in  distinctness;  there  was  a  regular  tap- 
ping like  that  of  an  electrical  transmitter.  I  rec- 
ommended that  the  beats  be  timed.  They  were 
two  hundred  and  forty  a  minute  —  a  multiple  of 
sixty ;  therefore,  clockwork.  That  was  serious. 
The  crew,  being  forward,  did  not  like  the  appear- 
ance of  things  :  they  did  not  mind  square  fight- 
ing, but  clockwork  under  the  keel  was  not  to 
their  liking.  There  were  some  of  the  survivors 
of  the  Maine  on  board,  including  the  captain.  I 
called  for  more  reports,  and  directed  that  some 
one's  ear  be  applied  to  the  riding-cable,  and  that 

138 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

a  boat  be  sent  to  listen  at  the  mooring-buoy,  to 
note  if  the  sound  was  transmitted  through  the 
water.  The  sound  grew  in  volume,  and  could  be 
located  under  a  port  compartment,  well  forward. 
A  boat  was  sent  outside  to  probe  with  an  oar. 
Nothing  was  discovered.  The  bounds  of  pa- 
tience were  no  longer  conterminous  with  the 
limits  of  international  courtesy,  so  the  bottom  of 
the  ship  was  swept  with  a  rope  by  means  of 
boats.  Other  boats  were  sent  to  ride  at  the  ex- 
treme ends  of  the  lower  booms  by  way  of  patrol. 
I  lost  my  temper,  and  remarked  that  one 
might  get  as  well  used  to  blowing  up  as  to 
hanging,  but  once  was  enough.  The  tapping 
never  ceased,  but  began  to  draw  slowly  aft.  It 
was  reported  as  most  distinct  at  the  port  gang- 
way, then  was  heard  most  clearly  in  the  port 
shaft-alley,  which  was  abaft  the  gangway.  Here 
was  the  suggestion  of  a  solution.  The  Mont- 
gomery s  heading  was  noted :  she  was  slowly 
swinging,  head  to  the  southward ;  so  was  the 
Vizcaya.  A  man  was  sent  to  note  if  the  sound 
continued  in  the  forward  compartment.  It  had 
ceased.  The  cause  was  clear:  the  sound  had 
continued  to  be  most  audible  in  that  part  of  the 
Montgomery  that  was  nearest  the  Vizcaya,  as  the 
vessels  swung  at  their  moorings.  It  came  from 
the  Vizcaya  through  the  water.  Commander 

139 


The  "  Maine  " 

Converse  and  I  had  heroically  resolved  to  remain 
on  board  and  take  our  chances.  We  remained 
on  board,  but  not  heroically.  A  day  or  two 
afterward,  when  Captain  Eulate  came  on  board, 
we  told  him  of  our  "  scare,"  to  our  mutual  amuse- 
ment. He  said  that  the  number  of  beats  a  min- 
ute showed  that  the  sound  came  from  his  dynamo 
or  from  his  circulating-pump. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  Spanish 
men-of-war  were  vigilant  in  certain  directions  as 
to  themselves  and  not  to  the  Montgomery.  My 
orders  to  make  a  friendly  visit  had  not  been 
countermanded.  I  lived  up  to  them,  to  the 
best  of  my  ability,  but  the  situation  was  daily 
growing  more  tense.  Immutable  law  seemed  to 
be  impelling  Spain  and  the  United  States  toward 
war.  While  abhorring  war,  as  causing  more 
severe  and  sustained  suffering  among  women 
and  children  than  among  combatant  men,  I  grew 
gradually  into  such  a  condition  of  mind  that  I, 
in  common  with  many  of  my  fellow-countrymen, 
was  not  averse  to  war  with  Spain. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  visit  of  the  Mont- 
gomery I  believed  that  her  presence  in  Havana 
was  no  longer  desirable.  Unless  she  was  pro- 
tected from  without,  she  was  unnecessarily  risked. 
The  presence  in  the  harbor  of  the  Vizcaya  and 

140 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

the  Oquendo  offset  any  moral  effect  that  could  be 
produced  by  a  single  United  States  war-vessel. 
It  was  then  my  opinion  that  no  United  States 
naval  force  should  be  employed  at  Havana  un- 
less aggressively,  and  outside  the  harbor.  It  had 
become  impossible  for  the  United  States  to  fly  its 
flag  in  security  for  the  protection  of  its  citizens. 
In  that  connection  one  could  well  "remember 
the  Maine"  I  recommended  that  the  Montgomery 
be  ordered  away  ;  she  was  relieved  by  the  Fern 
on  March  17,  and  Lieutenant-Commander  Wain- 
wright  and  I  transferred  ourselves  to  the  Fern. 

It  was  not  my  habit  at  Havana  to  court  seri- 
ous conversation  as  to  Spanish  policies,  but,  nat- 
urally, the  views  of  people  of  different  shades  of 
opinion  came  to  me.  Intelligent  Cubans  de- 
clared that  Spain  desired  war  with  the  United 
States  as  the  most  honorable  way  of  relinquish- 
ing Cuba.  They  said  that  Spain  had  been  pre- 
paring for  the  former  event  for  two  years,  and 
pointed  to  the  strong  fortifications  on  the  sea- 
front  and  the  absence  of  fortifications  on  the  land 
side  of  the  city.  A  Cuban  lawyer  of  the  highest 
standing,  who  was  closely  connected  with  the 
politics  of  the  island,  and  who  was  willing  to  ac- 
cept some  degree  of  Spanish  sovereignty,  asserted 
to  me  that  Spain  would  fight  without  regard  to 

141 


The  "  Maine  " 

consequences  ;  that  she  would  fight  even  though 
she  knew  that  she  would  be  defeated.  He  ap- 
peared to  base  his  belief  chiefly  on  the  character 
of  the  Spanish  people.  I  was  always  very  cau- 
tious as  to  expressing  any  opinions  of  my  own. 
I  received  views  without  giving  them.  In  reply 
to  annexation  sentiments,  it  was  my  custom  to 
say  that  annexation  was  not  a  public  question  in 
the  United  States. 

Soon  after  the  destruction  of  the  Maine,  a 
gentleman  came  to  me  in  the  Hotel  Inglaterra 
and  tendered  me  a  letter  of  sympathy  from 
General  Maximo  Gomez,  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Cuban  army.  When  the  letter  was  read 
I  expressed  my  gratitude  for  the  sentiments  of 
General  Gomez  and  accepted  them,  but  asked 
that  the  delivery  of  the  letter  be  deferred  until 
my  departure  from  Havana.  It  was  delivered  as 
requested. 

The  Maine  sank  in  from  five  and  a  half  to 
six  fathoms  of  water,  and  day  by  day  settled 
in  the  mud  until  the  poop-deck  was  about  four 
feet  under  water.  The  first  matter  to  engross 
the  attention  of  the  government  and  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  vessel  was  the  care  of  the  wounded, 
the  recovery  and  burial  of  the  dead,  and  the 
circulation  of  information  among  the  relatives  of 
the  officers  and  crew.  Next  followed  the  ques- 

142 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

tion  of  wrecking  the  vessel.  Her  value  when 
she  arrived  at  Havana,  with  everything  on 
board,  was  about  five  million  dollars.  Even  a 
casual  inspection  of  the  wreck  made  it  clear  that 
little  could  be  done  beyond  investigation  and 
the  recovery  of  the  dead,  except  by  the  employ- 
ment of  the  means  of  a  wrecking  company. 
The  Mangrove  removed  certain  parts  of  the 
armament  and  equipment,  and  navy  divers  were 
sent  from  the  fleet  at  Key  West  to  do  the  pre- 
liminary work  of  searching  the  wreck.  Every 
naval  vessel  of  large  size  is  provided  with  a 
diving  outfit  and  has  one  or  more  men  trained 
to  dive  in  armor.  The  government  promptly 
began  negotiations  with  wrecking  organizations, 
and,  as  soon  as  these  negotiations  took  form, 
Lieutenant-Commander  Wainwright  was  put  in 
charge  of  the  wrecking  operations  and  repre- 
sented the  government  in  dealing  with  the  wreck- 
ing companies.  Thereafter  he  was  daily  on  or 
about  the  wreck,  at  great  risk  to  his  health. 

At  first,  bodies  were  found  almost  from  hour 
to  hour,  and  were  buried  as  soon  as  prepared 
for  burial.  It  was  a  sad  sight  at  the  Machina 
landing,  where  bodies  were  to  be  seen  in  the 
water  alongside  the  sea-wall  at  all  times.  To  re- 
lieve the  public  eye  of  this  condition  of  affairs, 
a  large  lighter  was  obtained  and  anchored  near 

H3 


The  "  Maine" 

the  wreck.  On  its  deck  there  was  always  a  great 
pile  of  burial-cases.  To  this  lighter  all  bodies 
were  then  taken  as  soon  as  recovered,  and  after 
being  prepared  for  burial,  were  at  first  taken  to 
the  Colon  Cemetery,  and  toward  the  last  to  Key 
West;  in  the  latter  case  they  were  generally 
carried  by  the  Coast  Survey  steamer  Bache,  com- 
manded by  Lieu  tenant- Commander  William  J. 
Barnette,  U.  S.  N. 

The  work  of  the  naval  divers,  chiefly  a  work 
of  investigation,  occupied  about  five  weeks,  and 
was  commonly  directed  at  the  zone  of  explosion, 
down  in  the  forward  part  of  the  wreck.  The 
water  of  Havana  harbor,  although  filthy,  is  not 
so  bad  in  winter  as  in  summer.  Our  men  went 
down  willingly  and  did  excellent  service.  After 
each  diver  had  completed  his  labors  for  the  day 
he  was  thoroughly  washed  with  disinfectants. 
Everything  taken  from  the  wreck,  except  articles 
of  unwieldy  size,  was  plunged  into  a  disinfect- 
ing solution.  It  was  recommended  by  Surgeon 
Heneberger  of  the  Maine,  after  conference  with 
Surgeon  Brunner  of  the  United  States  Marine 
Hospital  Service  and  others,  that  no  article  of 
textile  fabric  should  be  used  on  recovery,  but 
that  all  should  either  be  burned  or  given  to  the 
acclimated  poor  of  Havana.  This  recommenda- 
tion was  adopted,  and  the  survivors  of  the 

144 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

Maine  lost  all  of  their  clothing.  Assistant  Sur- 
geon Spear  was  in  charge  of  the  disinfecting 
processes. 

February  19  was  an  eventful  day.  The  Bache 
had  arrived  with  divers  the  day  before,  but  this 
day  the  Olivette  brought  more  divers  and  further 
outfits.  Ensign  Frank  H.  Brumby  and  Gunner 
Charles  Morgan  arrived  from  the  fleet  to  assist 
at  the  wreck.  I  sent  the  following  telegram  to 
the  Navy  Department: 

.  .  .  One  hundred  and  twenty-five  coffins,  containing 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dead,  now  buried;  nine  ready 
for  burial  to-morrow.  .  .  . 

And  the  following  telegram  was  received  by 
General  Lee  from  the  Department  of  State  at 
Washington : 

The  government  of  the  United  States  has  already  begun 
an  investigation  as  to  the  causes  of  the  disaster  to  the  Maine, 
through  officers  of  the  navy  specially  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose, which  will  proceed  independently. 

The  government  will  afford  every  facility  it  can  to  the 
Spanish  authorities  in  whatever  investigation  they  may  see  fit 
to  make  upon  their  part. 

This  despatch  disposed  of  the  question  of  joint 
investigation.  This  day  funeral  services  were 
held  at  the  cathedral  over  the  remains  of  the 
Spanish  colonel  Ruiz,  who  had  been  killed  in 

us 


The  "Maine" 

December  by  order  of  an  insurgent  colonel.  I 
desired  to  attend  the  funeral  with  General  Lee, 
in  recognition  of  the  public  demonstration  of 
sympathy  for  our  dead  made  by  the  Spaniards, 
but  reluctantly  abandoned  my  intention  because 
I  had  no  suitable  garments  to  wear.  Conven- 
tion is  strictly  drawn  by  the  Spaniards  in  regard 
to  funerals,  and  one  must  wear  uniform  or  civil- 
ian's evening  dress ;  I  had  neither. 

On  the  2ist  the  Mangrove  returned  from  Key 
West,  bringing  the  members  of  the  court  of 
inquiry,  and  the  court  convened  on  board  that 
vessel.  I  was  the  first  witness.  The  court  was 
composed  of  Captain  William  T.  Sampson,  at 
that  time  in  command  of  the  battle-ship  Iowa; 
Captain  French  E.  Chadwick,  captain  of  the  flag- 
ship New  York;  and  Lieutenant- Commander 
William  P.  Potter,  executive  officer  of  the  New 
York.  The  judge-advocate  was  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Adolph  Marix,  who  has  already 
been  mentioned  as  having  been  at  one  time  ex- 
ecutive officer  of  the  Maine.  It  was  a  court 
which  inspired  confidence.  All  the  members 
were  scholarly  men.  Admiral  Sampson  had 
been  at  the  head  of  the  torpedo  station,  superin- 
tendent of  the  Naval  Academy,  and  chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ordnance.  Captain  Chadwick  had 
been  United  States  naval  attache  at  London, 

146 


EXPERT  D1VEE   ANDREW  OL8EN   PREPARING   TO  DESCEND. 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

and  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Equipment.  Lieuten- 
ant-Commander Potter  had  held  various  posi- 
tions of  importance,  especially  at  the  Naval 
Academy.  Lieutenant-Commander  Marix  knew 
the  structure  of  the  Maine  and  her  organization 
in  every  detail;  in  fact,  under  a  former  command- 
ing officer,  Captain  Arent  S.  Crowninshield  (now 
chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Navigation  of  the  Navy 
Department),  he  organized  the  crew  of  the 
vessel.  He  is  a  highly  intelligent,  active,  and 
decisive  officer.  As  commanding  officer  of  the 
Maine  at  the  time  of  her  destruction,  I  was,  in  a 
measure,  under  fire  by  the  court.  The  constitu- 
tion of  the  court  pleased  me  greatly.  I  desired 
to  have  the  facts  investigated,  not  only  on  their 
merits,  but  in  a  way  to  be  convincing  to  the 
public,  and  I  was  sure  that  this  court  of  inquiry 
would  deal  with  the  case  exhaustively. 

On  the  same  day  Commander  Peral  of  the 
Spanish  court  of  inquiry  visited  the  Mangrove 
while  I  was  on  board,  and  conversed  on  various 
matters.  I  had  already  provided  him  with  plans 
of  the  Maine,  in  order  that  he  might  be  prepared 
to  pursue  his  independent  investigation  without 
loss  of  time.  General  Lee  informed  General 
Blanco  of  the  expected  arrival  of  wrecking- ves- 
sels, and  no  obstacle  was  put  in  the  way  of 
prosecuting  the  wrecking  work. 


The  "  Maine  " 

During  the  day  various  articles  were  recovered 
from  my  cabins :  the  silverware  presented  to  the 
vessel  by  the  State  of  Maine,  my  bicycle,  a  type- 
writing machine,  etc.  The  after-superstructure, 
in  which  were  my  cabins,  was  the  only  part  of 
the  vessel  which  was  easily  accessible  to  the 
divers.  Below  that  all  was  confusion.  Every- 
thing that  was  buoyant,  including  mattresses 
and  furniture,  had  risen  to  the  ceiling,  blocking 
the  hatches.  There  was  some  comment  as  to  the 
recovery  of  my  bicycle.  I  presume  it  was  in  the 
way  of  the  diver,  and  he  got  rid  of  it  by  passing 
it  out;  or  he  may  have  intended  to  do  me  a 
kindness.  It  was  ruined  for  riding,  of  course. 
But  I  find  I  have  omitted  to  mention  that  certain 
articles  of  greater  importance  were  recovered. 
The  first  work  done  by  the  divers  was  to  secure 
these  articles. 

My  earliest  effort  by  means  of  the  divers  was 
to  secure  the  navy  cipher  code  and  the  signal- 
books.  In  this  we  were  successful.  Next  the 
magazine  and  shell-room  keys  were  sought. 
They  had  hung  at  the  foot  of  my  bunk,  on  hooks, 
near  the  ceiling.  At  the  first  attempt  the  diver 
failed  to  get  them.  His  failure  gave  me  more 
of  a  shock  than  the  explosion  itself.  A  missing 
key  might  have  meant  that  a  magazine  had  been 
entered  against  my  knowledge,  or  that  some 

148 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

diver  had  been  down  at  night  and  secured  the 
key.  It  was  a  case  of  treachery  on  board  or  of 
an  invitation  to  war.  Lieutenant- Commander 
Wainwright  questioned  the  diver  very  closely, 
and  concluded  that  he  had  groped  about  the 
head  of  my  bunk  instead  of  the  foot ;  so  he  was 
sent  down  again,  with  repeated  instructions  and 
descriptions.  This  time  he  brought  up  the  keys, 
which  were  in  their  bags.  It  appears  that  the 
mattress  of  the  bunk  had  been  carried  upward 
by  its  buoyancy  and  had  lifted  the  bags  off  the 
hooks.  They  were  found  just  on  top  of  the  mat- 
tress, immediately  above  the  hooks  on  which 
they  had  hung.  The  navigator,  who  was  also 
ordnance  officer,  found  that  the  key  of  every 
magazine  and  shell-room,  including  all  spare 
keys,  had  been  recovered.  My  relief  was  very 
great. 

The  next  effort  was  to  recover  my  private  cor- 
respondence with  General  Lee,  which  I  kept  in 
a  locked  drawer  in  the  bureau  of  my  state-room. 
There  would  have  been  no  harm,  perhaps,  in 
exhibiting  these  letters,  but  they  contained  an 
offhand  correspondence ;  therefore  I  preferred 
that  they  should  be  recovered.  In  groping 
within  this  drawer,  the  diver  got  all  he  could 
take  in  his  hands,  for  he  could  see  nothing.  He 
came  to  the  surface  with  the  papers,  my  watch, 

149 


The  "Maine" 

and  my  decoration  of  the  Red  Eagle  of  Prussia, 
which  had  been  given  me  by  Emperor  William  I 
of  Germany,  in  consideration  of  my  deep-sea 
inventions,  and  a  gold  medal  which  had  been 
awarded  me  by  the  International  Fisheries  Ex- 
hibition in  London  for  the  same  inventions.  The 
latter  had  been  exhibited  by  the  United  States 
Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  or  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  I  have  forgotten  which. 
The  decoration  and  the  watch  had  associations 
not  without  public  relation,  and  I  may  be  par- 
doned for  a  digression,  to  state  why  they  were 
of  special  value  to  me. 

The  decoration  had  been  conferred  on  me 
after  six  years'  hard  work  in  deep-sea  invention 
and  investigation,  in  which  I  had  given  the 
United  States  government  freely  all  of  my  inven- 
tions. The  first  tangible  recognition  that  I  had 
received  from  any  source  came  from  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  through  the  German  minister,  the 
State  Department,  and  the  Navy  Department. 
The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  requires 
an  act  of  Congress  to  enable  any  United  States 
official  to  receive  a  decoration  or  present  from 
any  foreign  potentate  or  power.  The  first  pub- 
lic recognition  of  my  work  from  my  own  coun- 
try was  a  prompt  adverse  report  from  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  when  the  question 

150 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

of  allowing  me  to  accept  the  decoration  came  up 
in  Congress.  This  was  disappointing,  especially 
as  the  German  minister  expressed  concern ;  but, 
through  the  courtesy  of  certain  senators,  the  re- 
port was  referred  back  to  the  committee  for  re- 
consideration, and  I  was  finally  allowed  to  receive 
the  decoration.  The  inventions  were  developed 
between  the  years  1874  and  1878,  while  I  had 
command  of  the  Coast  Survey  steamer  Blake, 
engaged  in  deep-sea  exploration  for  my  own 
government,  part  of  the  time  in  association  with 
Professor  Alexander  Agassiz.  The  Blake  was 
afterward  exhibited  at  the  Columbian  Exposition 
at  Chicago.  The  principal  part  of  her  outfit  on 
that  occasion  consisted  of  my  inventions  or  adap- 
tations. The  judge  in  the  class  under  which  the 
inventions  came  was  Captain  Concas1  of  the 
Spanish  navy,  whom  I  had  never  met.  He 
recommended  me  personally  for  an  award,  but 
when  the  question  was  considered  by  the  authori- 
ties at  the  exposition,  it  was  decided  that  the 
government,  being  the  exhibitor,  should  get  the 
award,  and  the  government  got  it.  A  high 
privilege  of  the  nautical  man,  high  or  low,  here 
or  there,  is  to  grumble  away  his  grievances. 
Since  it  can  probably  be  shown  that  my  inven- 

1  Captain  Concas,  it  will  be  re-      Infanta  Maria  Teresa  in  the  naval 
membered,  was  in  command  of  the      action  off  Santiago  de  Cuba. 


The  "Maine" 

tions  or  fittings  have  saved  the  United  States 
government  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  assuming  that  it  would  have  done,  with- 
out their  help,  the  same  work  that  it  has  done 
with  them,  it  may  be  claimed  that  I  am  exer- 
cising my  privilege  with  more  than  ordinary 
foundation. 

My  watch  was  not  without  marine  history. 
It  had  been  down  in  salt  water  three  times:  once 
in  Japan,  many  years  ago,  and  the  second  time 
in  Cuba,  about  1878.  The  second  submergence 
occurred  while  I  was  in  command  of  the  Coast 
Survey  steamer  Blake,  engaged  in  deep-sea 
exploration  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Professor 
Alexander  Agassiz  was  then  associated  with  me 
for  the  dredging  work  which  was  made  a 
specialty  that  season.  The  Blake  had  been  to 
Havana,  where  she  had  obtained  authority  from 
the  captain-general  to  enter  Bahia  Honda,  about 
forty-five  miles  west  of  Havana.  It  was  not  a 
port  of  entry.  We  were  informed  that  directions 
had  been  given  there  to  afford  us  every  facility 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  scientific  work  in 
which  we  were  engaged.  One  afternoon,  while 
off  Bahia  Honda,  our  steel  dredge-rope  fouled 
in  the  machinery  and  needed  splicing,  a  tedious 
operation,  suggesting  an  anchorage  in  port.  It 
was  also  desired  to  enter  for  the  purpose  of 

152 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

obtaining,  if  possible,  a  pilot  for  the  Colorado 
Reefs,  to  the  westward,  reefs  which  have  never 
been  properly  surveyed.  During  the  day  a 
Spanish  official  boarded  the  Blake,  acting  under 
directions  from  Havana,  and  offered  to  send  us 
a  pilot  if  we  should  make  a  signal  for  that 
purpose.  When  it  was  decided,  rather  late  in 
the  day,  to  enter  the  port,  the  usual  signal  for 
a  pilot  was  made.  I  could  not  enter  without 
one,  because  it  was  too  late  in  the  day  to  discern 
the  channel  clearly  from  the  deck,  and  I  had  not 
the  necessary  charts  and  books  to  inform  myself. 
A  boat  under  the  Spanish  flag  put  off  promptly 
from  the  Spanish  fort,  and  one  of  her  people 
presented  himself  as  a  pilot.  In  several  minutes 
after  his  acceptance  he  grounded  the  Blake 
badly,  on  hard  rock  bottom,  half  a  mile  from 
shore.  A  few  days  afterward  a  gale  came  on, 
and  the  sea  made  quickly.  We  were  on  a  lee 
shore.  Officers  and  crew,  excepting  a  few  of 
us,  were  landed  at  the  fort.  By  eight  o'clock 
the  sea  was  beating  heavily  against  the  vessel, 
and  she  was  pounding  hard.  The  pipes  in  her 
engine-room  began  to  crack,  and  there  were 
indications  that  she  would  soon  go  to  pieces. 
I  then  ordered  that  the  joint  of  the  Kingston 
valve  be  opened,  that  the  water  might  enter 
the  vessel  and  fill  her  up  to  the  outside  level. 

153 


The  "  Maine" 

She  was  flooded,  and  her  buoyancy  being  de- 
stroyed thereby,  she  ceased  to  pound.  Then 
the  rest  of  us  abandoned  her  for  the  night. 
Afterward,  during  the  efforts  to  get  her  off,  a 
tugboat  from  Havana,  with  an  immense  hawser 
made  fast  to  the  Blake,  suddenly  surged  on  the 
hawser.  It  flew  violently  upward  and  quivered 
under  great  tension.  I  was  then  almost  exactly 
under  it.  Believing  that  when  the  reaction  took 
place  and  the  hawser  descended  it  would  kill  me 
and  the  single  man  in  the  dinghy  with  me,  I 
shouted  to  him  to  get  overboard.  I  myself 
jumped,  with  the  result  that  my  watch  was  filled 
with  salt  water.  The  Blake  was  afterward 
floated,  and  completed  a  good  season's  work. 
The  Spaniards  had  not  thought  that  we  could 
save  the  vessel.  I  asked  the  superintendent  of 
the  Coast  Survey  for  a  board  or  court  of  in- 
quiry. He  replied  by  cable  :  "No  court  of  inquiry 
necessary :  hearty  thanks  and  congratulations 
to  yourself,  officers,  and  crew  for  saving  the 
Blaker 

It  was  ascertained  that  the  man  sent  to  pilot 
us  in  was  a  common  boatman  who  had  only  re- 
cently arrived  from  Santiago  de  Cuba.  He  knew 
absolutely  nothing  of  the  channel  into  Bahia 
Honda.  There  were  certain  vexatious  incidents 
connected  with  that  case.  The  day  after  the 

154 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

grounding  of  the  Blake,  a  Spanish  naval  officer, 
under  orders  from  the  Spanish  admiral  at  Havana, 
arrived  at  Bahia  Honda  on  board  an  American 
merchant  steamer,  to  make  offer  of  assistance. 
He  was  informed  of  our  needs,  whereupon  he 
returned  to  Havana.  Nothing  at  all  was  done 
by  the  Spaniards  for  our  relief  until  Professor 
Agassiz  went  to  Havana,  when,  by  extraordinary 
efforts,  he  managed  to  get  from  the  navy-yard 
an  anchor  and  a  hawser.  No  apology  or  expres- 
sion of  regret  for  the  grounding  of  the  vessel 
was  received,  and  on  the  night  of  the  grounding, 
when  I  sent  an  officer  ashore  to  a  telegraph 
office  about  six  miles  away,  with  a  report  to  the 
superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey  that  I  had 
been  grounded  by  a  pilot,  the  censorship  was 
applied  to  my  despatch,  and  I  was  not  allowed 
to  telegraph  that  there  was  a  pilot  on  board,  for 
the  reason,  as  given  by  the  Spaniards,  that  the 
man  sent  was  not  a  pilot.  On  that  occasion, 
also,  there  was  an  exhibition  of  courtesy.  The 
governor  of  the  province  visited  the  ship,  and 
the  captain  of  the  port,  or  the  equivalent  official, 
was  almost  constant  in  his  attendance  on  the  ves- 
sel during  the  daytime,  as  a  matter  of  either 
courtesy  or  observation.  He  gave  us  no  assis- 
tance except  to  advise  us  to  get  ashore  as  soon  as 
a  gale  came  on.  He  said  the  sea  would  make 

155 


The  "Maine" 

very  rapidly.  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  there 
was  a  fete  at  Havana  during  the  period  stated, 
which  may  have  interfered  with  measures  which 
otherwise  might  have  been  taken  for  our  relief. 
A  short  time  thereafter  a  Spanish  man-of-war 
met  with  disaster  off  our  coast ;  her  people,  as 
I  now  remember  the  case,  were  rescued  by  a 
United  States  revenue  cutter,  and  were  care- 
fully cared  for  on  board  the  receiving-ship  at 
New  York. 

I  had  in  view  the  Bahia  Honda  censorship 
when  I  wrote  "suspend  opinion"  instead  of 
"  suspend  judgment"  in  my  Havana  despatch. 

When  I  took  command  of  the  St.  Paul,  en- 
gaged in  the  war  between  Spain  and  the  United 
States,  I  thought  it  unwise  again  to  risk  that 
watch  in  Cuban  waters,  so  I  left  it  at  home,  and 
during  the  war  wore  a  very  cheap  one.  This 
recital  is  hardly  pertinent  to  my  narrative  of  the 
loss  of  the  Maine,  but  I  have  many  times  been 
asked  to  state  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  submergence  of  my  watch  the  first  time  in 
Cuba. 

To  return  to  the  wreck  of  the  Maine,  I  find 
that,  up  to  the  night  of  February  21,  one  hundred 
and  forty-three  bodies  had  been  recovered  from 
the  wreck  and  the  harbor.  On  this  day  Con- 
gress passed  a  joint  resolution  appropriating  two 

156 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

hundred  thousand  dollars  for  wrecking  purposes 
on  the  Maine.  The  terms  of  the  joint  resolution 
were  as  follows : 

That  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  be  and  he  is  hereby  author- 
ized to  engage  the  services  of  a  wrecking  company  or  com- 
panies having  proper  facilities  for  the  prompt  and  efficient 
performance  of  submarine  work  for  the  purpose  of  recovering 
the  remains  of  officers  and  men  lost  on  the  United  States 
steamer  Maine,  and  of  saving  the  vessel  or  such  parts  thereof, 
and  so  much  of  her  stores,  guns,  material  and  equipment, 
fittings  and  appurtenances,  as  may  be  practicable;  and  for 
this  purpose  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  or  so 
much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  is  hereby  appropriated  and 
made  immediately  available. 

With  this  the  following  amendment  was  incor- 
porated :  . 

And  for  the  transportation  and  burial  of  the  remains  of  the 
officers  and  men,  so  far  as  possible. 

The  Navy  Department  having  signed  con- 
tracts with  the  Merritt  &  Chapman  Wrecking 
Company  of  New  York,  and  the  Boston  Towboat 
Company,  the  wrecking-tug  Right  Arm,  belong- 
ing to  the  former  company,  left  Key  West  for 
Havana.  The  contract  with  the  companies  put 
them  under  my  directions  as  to  the  kind  of  work 
to  be  done.  They  were  required  to  work  at  the 
recovery  of  bodies  as  well  as  to  engage  in  wreck- 

157 


The  "  Maine  " 

ing  the  vessel.  The  tug  Right  Arm,  Captain 
McGee,  arrived  at  Havana  on  the  23d  and  began 
operations  on  the  24th.  She  did  not  remain 
long.  Thereafter  the  following  vessels  were 
employed  on  the  Maine:  the  steam-tug  T.  J. 
Merritt,  the  sea-barge  F.  R.  Sharp,  and  the 
floating  derrick  Chief,  all  for  the  New  York 
company,  and  the  steam -tug  Underwriter  and 
barge  Lone  Star,  for  the  Boston  company.  The 
wrecking  work  on  the  part  of  the  contractors 
was  in  charge  of  Captain  F.  R.  Sharp,  an  expert 
wrecker.  During  these  days  we  were  often 
shocked  by  the  sight  of  vultures  flying  over  the 
wreck  or  resting  on  the  frames  projecting  from 
the  ruins  of  the  central  superstructure.  I  sent 
the  following  telegram  to  the  Navy  Department 
on  the  night  of  the  24th : 

Wrecking-tug  Right  Arm  arrived  yesterday.  Begins  work 
to-day.  Much  encumbering  metal  must  be  blasted  away  in 
detail.  Navy  divers  down  aft  seven  days,  forward  four  days. 
Bodies  of  Jenkins  and  Merritt  not  found.  Two  unidentified 
bodies  of  crew  found  yesterday. 

After-compartments  filled  with  detached,  broken,  and  buoy- 
ant furniture  and  fittings;  mud  and  confusion.  Spanish 
authorities  continue  offers  of  assistance,  and  care  for  wounded 
and  dead.  Everything  that  goes  from  wreck  to  United  States 
should  be  disinfected.  Wrecking  company  should  provide 
for  this. 

Surgeon  of  Maine,  after  consultation  with  others,  recom- 

158 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

mended  that  all  bedding  and  clothing  should  be  abandoned. 
Might  go  to  acclimated  poor.  Useless  fittings  and  equipment 
might  be  towed  to  sea  and  thrown  overboard. 

Will  take  all  immediate  responsibility,  but  invite  depart- 
ment's wishes.  Shall  old  metal  of  superstructure  and  the  like 
be  saved  ?  Friends  of  dead  should  understand  that  we  are  in 
the  tropics.  Chaplain  Chidwick  charged  with  all  matters 
relative  to  dead.  His  conduct  is  beyond  praise. 

Don't  know  what  reports  are  being  printed,  but  the  intensely 
active  representatives  of  press  here  have  been  very  considerate 
of  me  and  my  position.1 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  approved  my  rec- 
ommendations and  authorized  me  to  use  my  own 
judgment. 

United  States  Senator  Redfield  Proctor  arrived 
at  Havana  on  board  the  Olivette,  from  Key 
West,  on  the  26th.  I  met  him  frequently  during 
his  visit,  which  was  wholly  occupied  in  a  per- 
sonal investigation  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
the  island.  His  speech  in  the  Senate  relative 
to  Cuban  affairs  is  well  remembered  for  its  great 
effect  on  the  public  mind  in  the  United  States. 
Afterward  a  party  of  United  States  senators  and 
members  of  Congress  visited  Havana  on  board 
a  private  yacht,  with  the  same  object  in  view  as 
that  which  inspired  the  visit  of  Senator  Proctor. 
This  party  consisted  of  Senator  Money  of  Mis- 

1  I  believe  the  last  paragraph  was  relation  to  certain  publications  pur- 
written  in  response  to  a  telegram  porting  to  give  information  ema- 
from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  nating  from  me. 

159 


The  "Maine" 

sissippi,  Senator  Thurston  of  Nebraska,  Repre- 
sentative Cummings  of  New  York,  and  Repre- 
sentative W.  A.  Smith  of  Michigan.  They  were 
accompanied  by  other  gentlemen  and  by  several 
ladies,  including  Mrs.  Thurston.  The  party 
soon  left  for  Matanzas,  to  see  the  condition  of 
things  in  the  neighborhood  of  that  city.  We 
were  greatly  shocked  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Thurston, 
who  had  visited  the  Montgomery  apparently  in 
good  health  and  spirits  while  in  Havana,  had 
died  suddenly  on  board  the  yacht  in  the  harbor 
of  Matanzas. 

During  this  period  the  Bache  was  occasionally 
carrying  wounded  to  Tortugas.  The  slow  re- 
covery of  bodies  and  the  organization  of  our 
work  made  it  possible  by  the  28th  to  send  bodies 
to  Key  West  for  burial,  and  the  Bache  was 
employed  for  this  sad  service.  On  the  28th  the 
Bache  left  for  Tortugas  with  five  wounded  men. 
They  were  sent  to  Tortugas  to  forestall  a  quaran- 
tine at  Key  West  because  of  the  unfavorable 
reputation  of  the  Havana  hospitals.  On  this 
trip  she  carried  one  unrecognized  body  to  Key 
West  for  burial.  This  was  the  first  body  that 
was  buried  in  our  own  soil. 

On  March  2,  the  day  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Vizcaya,  the  Spanish  divers  made  their  first  de- 
scent. They  continued  their  work  almost  daily 

1 60 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

until  March  19,  commonly  with  only  one  diver 
down  at  a  time,  but  occasionally  with  two.  Their 
time  spent  in  diving  aggregated  two  days  twenty- 
two  hours  and  ten  minutes  for  a  single  diver  —  a 
fair  amount,  but  not  comparable  with  the  time 
occupied  by  the  United  States  divers.  The 
Spaniards  worked  chiefly  from  a  position  outside 
the  ship,  forward  on  the  starboard  side.  To  us 
it  appeared  that  they  devoted  considerable  atten- 
tion to  the  locality  outside  of  the  Maine.  Their 
operations  were  quite  distinct  from  ours;  each 
party  pursued  its  own  course  undisturbed  by  the 
other. 

The  naval  divers  of  the  United  States  who 
gave  testimony  were  Gunner  Charles  Morgan  of 
the  New  York,  Chief  Gunner's  Mate  Andrew 
Olsen  and  Gunner's  Mate  Thomas  Smith  of  the 
Iowa,  Gunner's  Mates  W.  H.  F.  Schluter  and 
Carl  Rundquist  of  the  New  York,  and  Seaman 
Martin  Redan  of  the  Maine.  For  the  wrecking 
companies  the  divers  were  Captain  John  Hag- 
gerty  and  William  H.  Dwyer,  both  men  of  great 
diving  experience.  I  think  nearly  all  the  young 
officers  of  the  line  of  the  navy  associated  with  me 
at  that  time  begged  to  be  allowed  to  dive  in 
armor  at  times  when  points  involving  close  de- 
cision came  up.  Ensign  Charles  S.  Bookwalter, 
Ensign  Powelson,  and  Naval  Cadet  Holden 

161 


The  "  Maine" 

certainly  offered  their  services,  and  I  think  Naval 
Cadet  Cluverius  also. 

I  found  Captain  Pedro  del  Peral  of  the  Spanish 
navy,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  Spanish  investi- 
gation, a  highly  intelligent  and  most  agreeable 
officer.  His  relations  with  me  were  always 
pleasant.  It  did  not  appear  to  us  United  States 
officers  that  the  Spanish  diving  work  was  as  thor- 
ough as  our  own.  Doubtless  the  Spanish  com- 
mission or  court  of  instruction  had  its  own  way 
of  doing  things,  without  respect  to  our  views ; 
nevertheless,  the  Spanish  official  investigation 
lacked  the  scientific  and  sifting  quality  that  char- 
acterized that  of  the  United  States.1 

The  United  States  court  of  inquiry  took  up 
thoroughly  the  question  of  explosion  from  the 
interior,  and  was  unsparing  of  individuals  in  its 
investigation.  It  endeavored  to  ascertain  if  mis- 
takes had  been  made,  if  there  was  laxity  in  any 
direction  pointing  to  culpability  on  the  part  of 
those  on  board,  and  if  the  conditions  of  duty, 
stowage,  and  routine  favored  an  interior  explo- 
sion. It  would  have  been  very  gratifying  to  me, 
and  doubtless  to  other  survivors  of  the  Maine, 
had  the  Spanish  commission  made  an  investiga- 

1  The  report  of  the  Spanish  court  fifth  Congress,  Second  Session.  Its 
is  contained  in  Document  No.  405,  final  findings  are  given  in  Appen- 
House  of  Representatives,  Fifty-  dix  F. 

l62 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

tion  of  the  same  searching  and  exhaustive  char- 
acter relative  to  matters  exterior  to  the  vessel. 
On  the  Spanish  side  we  find  no  investigation  as 
to  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  mines  in  the 
harbor,  nor  as  to  the  possible  existence  at  Havana 
of  explosives  or  torpedoes  that  could  have  been 
used  against  the  Maine.  Although  the  advan- 
tages for  investigation  as  to  interior  causes  were 
on  the  American  side,  they  were  as  decidedly  on 
the  Spanish  side  in  all  that  related  to  matters 
exterior  to  the  Maine. 

The  Spanish  report  as  published  in  the  docu- 
ment already  referred  to  was  submitted  to  the 
United  States  government  by  the  Spanish  min- 
ister at  Washington  as  the  "full  testimony  in  the 
inquiry."  On  page  596  of  the  document  is  pub- 
lished a  preliminary  report  relating  to  the  cause 
of  the  disaster.  The  preliminary  report  is  dated 
in  the  printed  United  States  document  April  20, 
which  is -an  error,  my  authority  for  this  statement 
being  the  Department  of  State.  The  actual  date 
of  the  report  is  February  20,  only  five  days  after 
the  explosion,  and  one  day  before  the  United 
States  court  met  at  Havana.  The  report  finds, 
"although  in  reserved  character,"  that  the  explo- 
sion was  not  caused  by  an  accident  exterior  to 
the  Maine. 

163 


The  ''Maine" 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  report : 

Thinking  it  proper,  in  view  of  the  importance  of  the  unfor- 
tunate accident  occurring  to  the  North  American  ironclad 
Maine,  to  anticipate,  although  in  reserved  character,  something 
of  that  which  in  brief  will  form  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  fiscal 
[attorney-general]  upon  that  which  I  undersign,  and  in  case 
your  Excellency  should  think  it  opportune  and  proper  to  in- 
form the  government  of  her  Majesty  thereof,  I  have  the  honor 
to  express  to  your  Excellency  that  from  the  judicial  proceed- 
ings up  to  to-day  in  the  matter,  with  the  investigation  with 
which  you  charged  me  immediately  after  the  occurrence  of  the 
catastrophe,  it  is  disclosed  in  conclusive  manner  that  the  ex- 
plosion was  not  caused  by  any  accident  exterior  to  the  boat, 
and  that  the  aid  lent  by  our  officers  and  marines  was  brought 
about  with  true  interest  by  all  and  in  a  heroic  manner  by 
some. 

It  alone  remains  to  terminate  this  despatch  that  when  the 
court  can  hear  the  testimony  of  the  crew  of  the  Maine,  and 
make  investigation  of  its  interior,  some  light  may  be  attained 
to  deduce,  if  it  is  possible,  the  true  original  cause  of  the  event 
produced  in  the  interior  of  the  ship.  God  guard  your  Ex- 
cellency many  years. 

At  a  certain  stage  after  the  court  had  begun 
its  investigation  it  appeared  to  the  members, 
and  also  to  General  Lee,  that  there  was  no 
longer  any  objection  to  the  Spanish  authorities 
beginning  their  independent  investigation  by 
means  of  diving  in  and  about  the  wreck.  It 
was  suggested  that  I  invite  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties to  begin  operations.  I  declined,  although 

164 


3 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

willing  to  have  them  proceed.  At  that  time  I 
had  full  control  of  the  Maine,  and  remembered 
that  the  Spanish  authorities  had  previously  as- 
sumed a  dictatorial  position  in  reference  to  my 
command.  I  therefore  declined  to  move  in  the 
matter  except  with  the  express  authorization  of 
the  United  States  government,  thinking  it  a  very 
essential  point  that  no  access  to  the  Maine  should 
be  given  in  advance  of  that  authorization.  The 
question  was  referred,  as  desired  ;  the  authority 
was  given  me,  and  I  was  content,  because  it  was 
my  sincere  belief  that  the  Spanish  government 
had  at  least  a  strong  moral  right  to  investigate 
the  wreck  of  the  Maine. 

The  Spanish  investigation  was  ordered  imme- 
diately after  the  explosion.  In  fact,  the  Spanish 
commission  began  taking  testimony  one  hour 
thereafter,  the  first  witness  being  Ensign  Manuel 
Tamayo,  who  was  officer  of  the  deck  of  the 
Alfonso  XII  at  the  time  of  the  explosion.  In 
my  conversation  with  Spanish  officers,  in  which 
frankness  seemed  to  be  the  rule,  they  placed 
great  stress  on  certain  phenomena  attending  the 
explosion,  such,  for  example,  as  the  column  of 
flame  or  water  thrown  up,  the  concussion  on 
shore,  and  on  board  the  ships  in  the  harbor,  the 
waves  propagated  in  the  harbor,  the  apparent 
absence  of  dead  fish  in  the  water  after  the  explo- 

165 


The  "Maine" 

sion,  etc.,  all  of  which  were  very  proper  to  be 
considered  for  what  they  were  worth.  The 
United  States  court  of  inquiry  took  up  these 
points  also,  but  the  general  tenor  of  its  investi- 
gation was  much  more  rigid.  As  to  the  number 
of  fish  killed,  it  was  said  by  certain  people  that 
there  were  not  many  fish  in  the  harbor  of  Ha- 
vana, even  in  the  daytime,  and  that  at  night  they 
took  to  the  sea  outside ;  but  it  is  believed  that  no 
great  weight  was  attached  to  this  statement  on 
our  side.  Our  own  officers  knew  that,  of  the 
many  fish  commonly  thrown  to  the  surface  by 
the  explosion  of  a  submarine  torpedo,  most  of 
them  are  merely  stunned,  and  if  left  undisturbed 
will  swim  away  in  a  short  time. 

As  already  said,  General  Blanco  had  been 
promised  that  no  American  newspaper  corre- 
spondents should  be  permitted  to  enter  into  any 
investigation  of  the  Maine.  His  request  was 
hardly  necessary,  but  I  saw  that  his  wishes  were 
fulfilled.  The  ubiquitous  American  newspaper 
correspondent  could  not  be  denied,  however.  It 
caused  our  officers  some  amusement  to  see  occa- 
sionally a  certain  newspaper  correspondent  sit- 
ting in  the  stern  of  the  Spanish  divers'  boat  while 
it  was  working  on  the  wreck.  I  made  no  objec- 
tion. The  incident  put  me  on  the  better  side 
of  any  contention  that  might  arise,  and  it  was 

1 66 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

not  believed  that  the  correspondent  would  gather 
much  information  worthy  of  publication.  This 
particular  correspondent  afterward  said  that  the 
Spaniards  knew  that  he  was  an  American,  but 
allowed  him  to  make  his  visits,  believing  that  he 
was  actuated  only  by  a  purely  scientific  spirit  of 
observation. 

It  was  fortunate  that  Ensign  Wilfred  V.  N. 
Powelson  was  serving  on  board  the  Fern.  His 
services  to  the  court  were  of  inestimable  value. 
Ensign  Powelson  had  been  the  head  man  of  his 
class  at  the  Naval  Academy.  After  graduation 
and  a  short  service  in  the  line  he  began  a  course 
of  study  in  naval  architecture  at  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land, with  a  view  of  entering  the  Corps  of  Naval 
Constructors.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  in 
Glasgow  he  decided  to  remain  a  line  officer, 
whereupon  he  was  allowed  to  discontinue  the 
course  and  resume  his  previous  duties.  Naval 
architecture  and  naval  construction  were  taught 
at  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  in  fair  de- 
gree also.  The  scientific  tendencies  of  Ensign 
Powelson  and  his  studies  at  the  Naval  Academy 
and  at  Glasgow  gave  him  a  special  fitness  for  the 
investigation  of  the  wreck,  which  he  pursued  with 
unceasing  interest  and  care.  Under  the  direction 
of  Lieutenant- Commander  Wainwright,  he  or- 
dered, in  the  largest  degree,  the  details  of  the 

167 


The  "  Maine" 

* 

operations  of  the  divers.  His  system  was  admi- 
rable. He  would  have  the  divers  measure  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  submerged  structural  features  of 
the  vessel,  and,  in  case  of  doubt,  would  have  more 
than  one  diver  take  measurements  of  the  same 
parts.  Then  he  would  refer  these  measurements 
to  the  detailed  drawings  of  the  Maine,  which  we 
had  in  abundance.  In  this  way  he  would  show 
beyond  question  the  precise  position  that  the  sev- 
eral parts  had  occupied  in  the  structure  of  the 
Maine.  To  illustrate  his  methods :  If  a  piece  of 
the  bottom  plating  of  the  vessel  had  a  certain 
longitudinal  measurement  between  frames,  he 
would  show  that  the  piece  must  have  come  be- 
tween certain  frames.  By  measuring  the  trans- 
verse width  of  the  plate  and  other  dimensions,  he 
would  demonstrate  that  it  could  have  come  only 
from  a  certain  position  between  those  frames.  If 
there  was  a  manhole  plate,  he  would  show  that 
it  could  be  only  a  certain  manhole  plate,  the  pre- 
cise position  of  which  when  intact  he  could  refer 
to  the  drawing.  He  would  question  the  divers 
and  formulate  their  reports.  Then  his  testimony 
before  the  court,  verified  by  the  testimony  of  the 
divers,  would  go  on  the  record  of  the  court  for 
consideration.  Through  this  careful  method  of 
investigation  it  was  ascertained  that  at  Frame  1 7 
the  bottom  plating  of  the  ship  had  been  forced  up 

1 68 


LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER  RICHARD  WAINRIGHT, 
EXECUTIVE  OFFICER  OF  THE  "MAINE." 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

so  as  to  be  four  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
water,  or  thirty-four  feet  above  where  it  would 
have  been  had  the  ship  sunk  uninjured;  also  that 
the  vertical  and  flat  keels  had  been  similarly 
forced  up  in  a  way  that  could  have  been  produced 
only  by  a  mine  exploded  under  the  bottom  of  the 
ship. 

When  the  court  had  concluded  its  labors  at 
Havana,  I  desired  to  relieve  myself  of  the  neu- 
tral condition  of  mind  in  which  I  had  thought  it 
proper  to  continue  while  the  court's  investigation 
proceeded.  There  was,  naturally,  no  indication 
from  the  court  as  to  the  character  of  its  findings. 
I  invited  Ensign  Powelson  to  formulate  his  views 
as  to  the  initial  seat  of  the  explosion,  in  a  writ- 
ten report  to  me.  His  testimony  before  the  court 
of  inquiry  had  been  a  recitation  of  details.  His 
report  to  me  embraces  his  own  reasoning  and 
conclusions,  and  is  given  in  Appendix  E.  I 
wished  the  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  and 
I  wished  it  as  disconnected  from  my  own  suspi- 
cions and  prejudices.  Ensign  Powelson's  report 
in  connection  with  the  testimony  of  others  before 
the  court  convinced  me  that  I  could  accept  my 
own  views  which  had  been  allowed  to  lie  dor- 
mant. I  never  believed  any  other  theory  than 
that  the  Maine  was  blown  up  from  the  outside, 
but  I  should  have  surrendered  my  view  to  an 

169 


The  "  Maine  " 

adverse  finding  of  the  court  based  on  adequate 
ground.  The  murder  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
sleeping  and  unoffending  men  is  too  great  a 
crime  to  charge  against  any  man's  soul  without 
proof. 

The  court  investigated  first  the  probability  of 
an  interior  cause.  The  discipline  of  the  ship 
and  the  precautions  taken  against  explosion  from 
the  inside,  whether  fortuitous  or  as  the  result 
of  treachery,  were  subjected  to  careful  inquiry. 
The  testimony,  as  connected  with  a  possible  in- 
terior cause,  apparently  reduced  that  aspect  of 
the  case  to  the  consideration  of  a  single  "  pocket" 
coal-bunker  on  the  port  side,  adjoining  the  six- 
inch  reserve  magazine.  The  counterpart  of  this 
bunker  on  the  starboard  side  was  in  use  on  the 
day  of  the  explosion,  and  was  therefore  outside 
the  realm  of  suspicion.  Only  the  two  aftermost 
boilers  of  the  ship  were  in  use.  The  pocket- 
bunker  which  was  most  seriously  in  question 
had  been  full  of  coal  in  a  stable  condition  for 
three  months.  Its  temperature  had  been  regu- 
larly taken,  and  the  temperatures  of  the  maga- 
zine adjoining  it  had  been  taken  every  day  and 
recorded.  The  bunkers  were  provided  with 
electrical  alarms  of  unusual  sensitiveness,  the  in- 
dications of  which  were  recorded  on  a  ringing 
annunciator  near  my  cabin  door.  It  so  hap- 

170 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

pened,  fortunately  for  the  investigation,  that  the 
bunker  in  question  was  the  most  exposed  on  its 
outer  surface  of  all  in  the  ship.  It  was  exposed 
on  three  sides.  On  the  deck  above  the  maga- 
zine it  formed  three  sides  of  a  passageway  which 
was  traversed  many  times  a  day,  and  the  hands 
of  officers  and  men  were  placed  on  the  sides  of 
the  bunker,  unconsciously,  in  passing  that  way. 
Certain  lounging-places  for  the  crew  were 
bounded  by  the  walls  of  that  bunker.  Its  tem- 
perature was  taken  on  the  day  of  the  explosion. 
In  the  testimony  before  the  court  there  seemed 
to  arise  hardly  a  suspicion  in  any  direction  point- 
ing to  an  interior  cause,  further  than  that  this 
bunker  was  full  of  coal  and  was,  in  fact,  next  to 
a  magazine.  A  strong  point  was  the  fact  that 
the  boilers  next  those  forward  bunkers  had  not 
been  active  for  three  months.  On  the  contrary, 
there  were  many  facts  developed  which  con- 
spired to  indicate  that  the  primary  explosion  was 
outside  the  vessel. 

No  American,  so  far  as  I  know,  appeared  be- 
fore the  Spanish  court  or  commission,  and  no 
Spaniard  before  the  American  court ;  but  a  for- 
eigner, a  resident  of  Havana  for  many  years, 
gave  testimony  before  the  latter.  According  to 
his  own  account,  this  witness  must  have  held  the 
opinion  that  he  was  in  a  country  where  distaste- 

171 


The  "  Maine  " 

ful  people  were  likely  to  be  murderously  dealt 
with.  It  is  not  clear,  therefore,  why  he  chose  to 
testify  and  run  into  danger.  I  formed  the  sus- 
picion that  he  was  a  detective,  and  gave  no  cre- 
dence to  his  unsupported  testimony;  I  doubt  that 
anybody  else  did. 

It  seems  unlikely  that  the  agency  which  pro- 
duced the  explosion  of  the  Maine  will  always 
remain  unknown.  It  will  be  sought  with  more 
persistency  than  has  been  brought  to  bear  on 
the  investigation  of  the  first  landing-place  of 
Columbus,  the  final  resting-place  of  his  remains, 
or  the  identity  of  the  "  iron  mask." 

The  court  of  inquiry  was  obliged  to  meet  in 
turn  both  at  Key  West  and  Havana,  because 
the  Maine  s  people  had  been  distributed.  The 
Mangrove,  with  the  court  aboard,  left  Havana  for 
Key  West  on  February  26,  returned  on  March 
5,  and  left  finally  on  March  15.  It  completed 
its  report  at  Key  West  on  March  21,  one  month 
after  its  first  sitting  at  Havana.  Its  findings  are 
given  in  Appendix  C.  On  March  28  its  report 
was  transmitted  to  Congress  in  a  message  from 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  which  is 
given  in  Appendix  D.  The  rapid  movement 
of  events  toward  war  with  Spain  after  the  re- 
ception by  Congress  of  the  President's  message 
is  a  matter  of  current  history  ;  so  is  the  downfall 

172 


LIEUTENANT  JOHN  J.   BLAND1N, 

Who  survived  the  explosion,  but  who  died  on  July  16,  1898. 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

of  Spanish  colonization  through  the  operations 
of  the  United  States  army  and  navy. 

After  the  court  had  completed  its  work  at 
Havana,  the  wrecking  operations  on  the  Maine, 
under  the  direction  of  Lieu  tenant- Commander 
Wainwright  (who  had  as  an  assistant  Naval 
Cadet  Cluverius,  a  very  able  and  conscientious 
young  officer),  became  the  event  of  chief  interest. 
Nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  her  guns  were  recovered, 
but  not  those  in  the  turrets.  The  breech-blocks 
of  the  after-turret  guns  were  recovered  and 
saved.  I  had  recommended  that  bags  of  crystal 
acid  be  put  into  the  chambers  of  the  turret  guns 
to  eat  away  the  tubes,  but  I  doubt  that  this  was 
done. 

The  forward  half  of  the  Maine  was  distorted 
and  disintegrated  beyond  repair.  She  was  hardly 
worth  raising  for  any  practical  purpose  whatever, 
but  it  took  time  completely  to  develop  this  con- 
clusion. Toward  the  last,  the  wrecking  force 
having  removed  all  the  parts  above  water  that 
could  be  detached  by  ordinary  means,  Captain 
Sharp  desired  to  use  dynamite,  in  small  charges 
or  in  the  form  of  tape,  to  blast  away  connecting 
parts  in  detail.  He  requested  me  to  apply  to 
the  Spanish  officials  for  authority  to  import  about 
two  hundred  pounds  of  dynamite.  I  made  known 
his  wishes  to  General  Lee,  who  reported  them 

173 


The  "  Maine" 

to  the  Spanish  authorities,  with  a  request  from 
me  that  a  place  be  named  where  the  dynamite 
might  be  kept.  General  Blanco  bluntly,  even 
contentiously,  refused  the  request.  This  virtu- 
ally reduced  the  wrecking  work  to  the  recovery 
of  armament,  equipment,  and  fittings.  The 
Navy  Department  then  informed  me  that  it  did 
not  approve  the  use  of  dynamite.  The  situation, 
by  that  time,  was  strained  beyond  relief. 

On  March  26  all  of  the  Maine's  officers  except 
Lieutenant- Commander  Wainwright  were  de- 
tached and  left  Havana  for  Key  West  by  the  Oli- 
vette, Wainwright  remaining  behind  to  represent 
the  government  in  connection  with  the  wrecking 
companies.  General  Lee,  many  American  news- 
paper correspondents,  and  other  gentlemen,  and 
a  few  ladies,  came  on  board  to  see  us  off.  After 
a  time  we  were  invited  into  the  dining-cabin. 
Attention  was  soon  demanded  by  General  Lee, 
who  made  a  short  and  touching  address  to  me 
in  which  he  showed  much  feeling.  He  and  I 
had  worked  together  so  completely  in  unison 
during  the  stress  of  the  great  disaster  that  the 
breaking  of  the  bond  could  not  but  be  felt 
deeply  by  both  of  us.  He  then  presented  to 
me,  in  behalf  of  the  American  press  correspon- 
dents in  Havana,  a  beautiful  floral  piece  which 
had  been  brought  on  board.  I  replied  in  a  short 

174 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

address,  in  which  I  returned  thanks  and  ex- 
pressed my  appreciation  of  the  kind  forbearance 
that  had  been  shown  to  me  by  the  gentlemen  of 
the  press  in  Havana.  The  parting  was  a  sol- 
emn one  to  me,  and,  I  think,  to  all  present. 
The  small  American  colony  which  had  held 
together  in  close  sympathy  during  the  whole 
trying  period  following  the  loss  of  the  Maine 
was  now  breaking  up;  and  the  interruption  of 
friendly  relations  with  Spain  was  at  hand.  I 
was  completely  taken  by  surprise  by  this  cordial 
demonstration  of  the  newspaper  correspondents. 
Since  I  had  been  able  to  do  but  little  for  them 
in  their  official  characters,  it  pleased  me  greatly 
that  I  had  nevertheless  won  their  private  regard. 
I  find  that  it  takes  a  strong  effort  of  moral  cour- 
age to  refer  in  this  way  to  gentlemen  of  the 
press,  —  one's  motive  may  so  easily  be  miscon- 
strued,—  but  to  one  who  will  try  to  fancy  himself 
in  the  position  that  I  occupied  at  Havana,  the 
gratification  that  I  have  expressed,  and  my  de- 
sire to  express  it  far  more  strongly,  should  be 
apparent. 

On  leaving  Havana,  I  disliked  exceedingly  to 
have  Lieutenant- Commander  Wainwright  re- 
main behind.  My  first  official  act  afterward, 
when  I  arrived  at  the  Navy  Department,  was 
to  recommend  that  he  be  relieved.  He  had  had 

175 


The  "Maine" 

i 

a  long  and  difficult  tour  of  duty  in  connection 
with  the  wreck,  during  which  he  had  borne  up 
nobly.  On  the  day  after  our  departure  from 
Key  West,  the  Bache  returned  to  Havana  har- 
bor, with  Captain  Chadwick,  as  senior  member 
of  a  board,  in  association  with  Lieutenant- Com- 
manders Cowles  and  Wainwright,  to  determine 
the  final  disposition  that  should  be  made  of 
the  wreck.  They  soon  after  reported  adversely 
as  to  further  measures.  Wrecking  operations 
were  therefore  abandoned.  Lieu  tenant- Com- 
mander Wainwright  left  Havana  about  April  5  ; 
General  Lee  and  the  American  citizens,  as  a 
body,  on  April  9.  General  Lee  left  on  board 
the  Fern,  with  Lieutenant- Commander  Cowles. 
As  the  Fern  steamed  out  of  the  harbor  derisive 
whistles  from  people  on  shore  were  heard. 

My  duties  at  Havana  were  confined  so  spe- 
cifically to  certain  features  of  the  situation  that 
I  was  not  personally  cognizant  of  much  that  was 
going  on  about  me,  and  concerning  which  I 
regret  that  I  am  not  better  informed.  For  ex- 
ample, there  was  much  kindness  shown  by  kind- 
hearted  people  to  our  men  at  the  hospital  at 
Havana.  I  remember  especially  the  attentions 
of  Sister  Mary  Wilberforce  and  Mr.  Charles 
Carbonell.  The  Spanish  surgeon  in  charge  of 
the  hospital  at  Havana  should  not  be  forgotten ; 

176 


Naval  Cadet  David  F.  Boyd,  Jr. 
Surgeon  Lucien  G.  Heneberger. 


Paymaster  Charles  M.  Ray. 
Lieut.  Albertus  W.  Catlin. 
Carpenter  George  Helms. 


Pay-clerk  Brent  McCarthy. 
Gunner  Joseph  Hill. 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

every  report  that  came  to  me  from  the  hospital 
showed  that  he  gave  our  men  the  very  best  care 
to  be  had  in  that  institution.  The  report  of 
the  Spanish  Court  of  Instruction  shows  that 
helpfulness  was  wide-spread  among  the  Span- 
iards. At  Key  West  the  wounded  were  cared 
for  in  the  hospital  at  the  army  barracks  and  in 
the  marine  hospital  near  the  fort.  The  citizens 
of  Key  West  were  very  attentive  to  the  wounded 
men. 

On  arriving  in  Washington,  I  reported  to  the 
Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  The 
Secretary  took  me  to  the  Executive  Mansion, 
where  he  presented  me  to  President  McKinley, 
who  greeted  me  cordially  and  with  kind  words. 
My  immediate  connection  with  the  disaster  to  the 
Maine  may  be  said  to  have  ended  on  the  night 
of  April  2,  when  a  reception  was  given  to  me 
at  the  Arlington  Hotel  in  Washington  by  the 
National  Geographical  Society,  of  which  I  am  a 
member ;  it  was  under  the  direction  of  the 
president  of  the  society,  Professor  Alexander 
Graham  Bell,  assisted  by  some  of  his  associates. 
The  reception  was  attended  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  Vice- President,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  and  many  distinguished  gen- 
tlemen, official  and  private,  in  Washington  at 
that  time.  Ladies  were  present  in  equal  num- 

177 


The  "  Maine  " 

her  with  the  men.  I  greatly  regretted  that, 
through  force  of  adverse  circumstances,  I  was 
the  only  representative  of  the  Maine  present. 
Perhaps  no  more  distinctive  personal  honor  has 
ever  been  paid  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  a  naval  officer  than  was  shown  me 
that  night.  My  only  regret  was  that  it  could 
not,  in  some  way,  have  found  a  place  on  the 
files  of  the  Navy  Department.  An  officer 
whose  life  is  spent  in  the  naval  service  is 
keenly  alive  in  all  matters  affecting  his  official 
record. 

I  was  deeply  disappointed  that  there  was  no  bat- 
tle-ship the  command  of  which  was  vacant.  I  had 
hoped  for  an  immediate  command  of  that  nature, 
some  vessel  at  least  as  large  as  the  Maine,  as  a 
mark  of  the  continued  confidence  of  the  govern- 
ment, officially  and  publicly  expressed.  I  men- 
tioned my  regret  to  the  President  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy.  The  day  after  the  reception 
I  told  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  that  I  withdrew 
all  question  as  to  the  size  of  a  command,  and 
was  desirous  of  accepting  any  command  where  I 
could  be  of  service.  With  great  consideration, 
the  secretary  soon  gave  me  the  command  of  the 
auxiliary  cruiser  St.  Paul,  which  was  probably 
the  largest  man-of-war  ever  commanded  by  any- 

178 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

body.  Her  displacement  was  sixteen  thousand 
tons,  or  four  thousand  tons  more  than  that  of  our 
largest  battle-ship,  the  Iowa.  She  was  under 
complete  man-of-war  organization. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  surviving  offi- 
cers and  crew  of  the  Maine  were  much  scattered 
after  their  formal  detachment  from  that  vessel. 
Members  of  the  crew,  as  a  rule,  were  distributed 
among  vessels  at  Key  West.  Lieutenant- Com- 
mander Wainwright  was  given  command  of  the 
Gloucester.  He  did  fine  service  with  that  vessel 
on  the  south  side  of  Cuba,  and,  later,  on  the  south 
side  of  Porto  Rico.  The  action  of  the  Gloucester 
with  the  torpedo-boat  destroyers  Pluton  and 
Furor  is  well  remembered.  Lieutenant  Holman 
was  ordered  to  the  torpedo-station  at  Newport ; 
Lieutenant  Hood  was  first  given  command  of  the 
Hornet,  and  later  was  attached  to  the  Topeka  ; 
Lieutenant  Jungen  was  given  command  of  the 
Wampatuck ;  Lieutenant  Blow  commanded  the 
Potomac,  and  later  was  attached  to  the  Vulcan; 
Lieutenant  Blandin  was  attached  to  the  Bureau 
of  Equipment,  Navy  Department:  he  died  on 
July  16;  Naval  Cadets  Holden  and  Cluverius 
were  attached  to  the  Scorpion  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant-Commander  Marix;  Naval 
Cadet  Bronson  was  attached  first  to  the  Scorpion 

179 


The  "  Maine" 

and  then  to  the  Amphitrite  ;  Naval  Cadet  Boyd 
was  attached  first  to  the  flagship  New  York  and 
later  to  the  Gushing. 

Staff-officers  were  ordered  to  service  as  fol- 
low: Dr.  Heneberger  to  the  St.  Paul,  under 
my  command ;  Paymaster  Ray  in  charge  of  the 
navy  pay-office,  at  Baltimore;  Chief  Engineer 
Howell  to  the  Newark  ;  Passed  Assistant  Engi- 
neer Bowers  to  the  New  York  navy-yard  ;  Assis- 
tant Engineer  Morris  to  the  Columbia;  Naval 
Cadet  Washington  to  the  New  Orleans;  Naval 
Cadet  Crenshaw  to  the  San  Francisco,  and  at 
the  time  of  this  writing  he  is  on  board  the  Texas 
under  my  command ;  Chaplain  Chidwick  to  the 
Cincinnati ;  First  Lieutenant  of  Marines  Catlin 
to  the  St.  Louis;  Boatswain  Larkin  to  the 
League  Island  navy-yard;  Gunner  Hill  to  the 
New  York  navy-yard ;  Carpenter  Helm  to  the  re- 
ceiving-ship Vermont ;  Pay-Clerk  McCarthy  to 
the  Columbia;  Sergeant  Anthony  was  transferred 
to  the  Detroit,  where  he  served  during  the  war. 

While  in  Washington  I  was  directed  to  appear 
before  the  Committees  on  Foreign  Relations  in 
the  Senate  and  the  House.  The  committees 
questioned  me  freely  on  points  tending  to  am- 
plify the  investigation  of  the  court  of  inquiry. 
One  of  the  committees  desired  to  be  informed, 
substantially,  if  I  could  attribute  the  loss  of  the 

1 80 


Naval  Cadet  Arthur  Crenshaw.  Boatswain  Francis  E.  Larkin.          Naval  Cadet  Pope  Washington. 

Passed  Asst.  Eng.  Frederic  C.  Bowers.      Chaplain  John  P.  Chidwick.  Asst.  Eng.  John  R.  Morris. 

Chief  Eng.  Charles  P.  Howell 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

Maine  to  any  special  mechanical  agency  or  to 
any  person  or  persons.  I  replied  that  I  had  no 
knowledge  that  would  enable  me  to  form  a  judg- 
ment in  those  particulars.  I  was  then  pressed, 
formally  and  informally,  as  to  possibilities  in- 
stead of  probabilities.  When  the  investigation 
took  a  hypothetical  character,  I  explained  a  me- 
chanical means  whereby  the  Maine  could  have 
been  blown  up,  and  referred  to  persons  who  were 
in  a  position  which  would  have  enabled  them  to 
blow  her  up  had  they  been  so  inclined.  It  was 
well  understood  on  both  sides  that  no  charge 
was  made,  since  no  evidence  existed.  The  plan 
shown  was  of  my  own  conception.  The  commit- 
tee was  informed  that  the  watering  population  of 
Havana  was  Spanish,  not  Cuban ;  also  that  there 
were  many  Spaniards  in  Havana  who  presuma- 
bly had  more  or  less  knowledge  of  torpedoes  and 
submarine  mines,  and  who  could  have  blown  up 
the  Maine  had  they  so  desired.  This  personal 
phase  of  the  investigation  was  not  pleasant  to 
me,  because  it  did  not  deal  with  known  actuali- 
ties, but,  beyond  doubt,  the  committee  was  right 
in  pressing  the  inquiry  as  far  as  it  deemed  neces- 
sary. The  loss  of  the  Maine  was  not  a  subject 
of  investigation  in  which  the  committee  was  likely 
to  feel  unduly  inclined  to  deference  toward  any 
persons  whatever. 

181 


The  "Maine" 

The  mechanical  plan  is  shown  in  Fig.  i,  on  this 
page.  The  Maine,  A,  swinging  in  a  complete 
circle  around  the  fixed  mooring-buoy,  B,  would 
have  covered  progressively  every  part  of  the  area 


> 


i 


Fig.  2. 

DIAGEAM  SHOWING  HOW  A  MINE  MIGHT  HAVE  BEEN  PLACED 
UNDEK  THE  "MAINE." 

bounded  by  the  dotted  line  shown  in  the  dia- 
gram. Therefore  at  some  time  during  her  swing 
she  would  have  been  over  a  mine  planted  any- 
where in  that  area  as  at  C.  To  blow  her  up 

182 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

would  have  been  an  easy  matter,  if  a  mine  could 
have  been  so  planted  without  suspicion.  It 
would  have  been  chiefly  a  question  of  time  to 
await  the  favorable  moment,  and  of  immunity 
from  suspicion  and  arrest.  Many  lighters  were 
moving  about  in  the  harbor  every  day;  some 
passed  and  repassed  the  Maine  in  various  direc- 
tions. Could  a  lighter,  taking  advantage  of  this 
traffic,  have  proceeded  past  the  Maine  along  any 
route,  as  DE,  crossing  the  area  of  danger,  and 
have  dropped  a  mine  without  detection  ?  It  is 
believed  that  she  could  have  succeeded,  even 
though  the  men  on  lookout  on  board  the  Maine 
had  been  watching  her  at  the  time.  The 
method  that  I  conceive  could  have  been  em- 
ployed was  explained  by  me  to  Captain  Samp- 
son and  Commander  Converse  on  board  the 
Montgomery.  Each,  in  turn,  had  been  in  charge 
of  the  Torpedo  School  at  Newport.  They  ad- 
mitted that  the  plan  was  feasible,  and  when  I 
pointed  to  a  lighter  passing  ahead  of  the  Mont- 
gomery, each  admitted  that  if  she  were  then 
dropping  a  mine,  according  to  the  plan  described, 
we  could  not  detect  her  in  the  act.  It  was  main- 
tained, however,  that  it  would  require  about 
twelve  persons  of  different  kinds  of  skill,  act- 
ing in  collusion,  to  execute  the  plan  in  its 
entirety. 

183 


The  "  Maine  " 

Fig.  2,  page  182,  represents  my  idea  of  such  a 
lighter  and  of  her  procedure.  Under  a  decked 
lighter  of  large  capacity  is  slung  a  mine  very 
large,  but  so  loaded  that  its  specific  gravity,  as 
a  whole,  is  only  slightly  greater  than  that  of 
the  harbor  water.  Let  it  weigh,  say,  one  hun- 
dred pounds  in  water.  It  is  slung  from  a  trip- 
ping-bar within  the  lighter,  the  slings  passing 
through  tubes  which  are  let  into  the  bottom  of 
the  lighter  and  extend  upward  above  the  level 
of  the  outside  water.  Insulated  wires  lead  for- 
ward from  the  mine  and  through  a  similar  tube 
to  a  reel  mounted  within  the  lighter.  If  a 
lighter,  so  prepared,  is  slowly  towed  through  the 
water,  or  preferably  driven  slowly  by  a  noisy 
geared  engine,  of  the  type  seen  in  Havana,  she 
can  drop  her  mine  on  ranges,  unobserved,  as 
she  may  choose.  The  mine  being  wholly  sub- 
merged, no  wave  will  be  noticed  on  letting  go ; 
there  will  be  no  jump  of  the  lighter,  any  more 
than  would  be  evident  were  one  of  her  crew  to 
fall  overboard.  With  a  heavy  lighter  there  will 
be  no  sudden  change  of  speed ;  at  least,  this  can 
be  provided  against  by  opening  the  throttle  of 
the  engine  wider  at  the  right  time.  When  the 
mine  drops,  the  electrical  wires  pay  out  auto- 
matically. The  lighter  goes  alongside  a  wharf 
or  anchors.  She  may  land  her  wires,  if  opportu- 

184 


Lieutenant  John  Hood. 
Lieutenant  George  P.  Blov 


Naval  Cadet  Jonas  H.  Holden. 
Lieut.  George  F.  W.  Holman. 
Lieut.  Carl  W.  Jungen. 


Naval  Cadet  Watt  T.  Cluverius. 
Naval  Cadet  Amon  Bronson,  Jr. 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

nity  serves,  or  at  the  right  moment  the  explosion 
is  caused  electrically  on  board  the  lighter.  She 
then  leaves  her  berth,  drops  her  wires  elsewhere, 
and  disposes  of  her  fittings. 

On  board  the  Maine  the  greatest  watchfulness 
was  observed  against  measures  of  this  kind ;  not 
that  I  believed  we  were  likely  to  be  blown  up,  but 
as  a  proper  precaution  in  a  port  of  unfriendly 
feeling.  On  the  day  of  the  explosion,  or  the 
day  before,  I  caused  ten  or  twelve  reports  to  be 
made  to  me  concerning  a  single  lighter  that 
passed  and  repassed  the  Maine.  She  did  not 
pass  within  what  I  may  call  the  area  of  danger, 
and  she  was  not  of  a  type  to  have  carried  out 
the  plan  just  set  forth. 

In  dwelling  on  these  problematical  matters  it 
should  not  be  thought  that  it  is  intended  to  point 
to  any  individual  responsibility  for  the  Maine  dis- 
aster. I  shall  not  break  my  rule  of  reserve,  but, 
short  of  personal  accusation,  investigation  of  so 
horrible  a  disaster  may  pursue  any  promising  line 
of  thought,  even  beyond  suspicion  and  into  the 
domain  of  abstract  possibility. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  a  large  number  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States  have  refused  to 
relieve  Spain  of  moral  responsibility  for  the 
loss  of  the  Maine.  In  conversation  with  many 
Americans,  and,  notably,  with  a  distinguished 

185 


The  "  Maine" 

citizen  who  has  held  high  public  office  at  home 
as  well  as  high  diplomatic  office  abroad,  I  have 
gathered  points  in  what  the  latter  gentleman 
calls  an  indictment.  Since  these  points  indicate 
public  opinion  in  considerable  degree,  it  may  be 
of  interest  to  set  them  forth  here,  especially  as 
they  may  have  guided  public  action  indirectly 
through  individual  activity. 

Spain,  in  respect  to  Cuba,  was  not  friendly  to 
the  United  States.  Havana  was  heavily  fortified 
on  the  sea-front,  not  against  Cuba,  but,  obvi- 
ously, against  the  United  States.  The  Maine 
was  not  welcome  at  Havana.  Her  coming  was 
officially  opposed  on  the  ground  that  it  might 
produce  an  adverse  demonstration.  By  officials 
she  was  treated  with  outward  courtesy ;  other- 
wise, she  was  made  to  feel  that  she  was  unwel- 
come. She  was  taken  to  av/  special  mooring- 
buoy — a  buoy  that,  according  to  the  testimony 
given  before  the  United  States  naval  court  of  in- 
quiry, was  apparently  reserved  for  some  purpose 
not  known.  She  was  taken  to  this  buoy  by  an 
official  Spanish  pilot,  and  she  was  blown  up  at 
that  buoy  by  an  explosion  from  the  outside. 
Therefore  there  must  have  been  a  mine  under 
the  Maine's  berth  when  she  entered  the  harbor, 
or  a  mine  must  have  been  planted  at  her  berth 
after  her  arrival.  In  either  case,  the  Maine 

186 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

should  have  been  protected  by  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment. She  was  not  informed  of  the  existence 
of  a  mine  at  her  berth,  or  cautioned  in  any  wise 
against  danger  from  mines  or  torpedoes.  In  her 
attitude  of  initial  and  reiterated  friendship,  she  was 
powerless  to  search  her  mooring-berth.  She 
was  obliged  to  assume  a  due  sense  of  responsi- 
bility on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  authorities.  Yet 
it  has  not  appeared  that  they  took  any  measures 
to  guard  her.  Mining  plants  for  harbor  defense, 
and  their  electrical  connections,  are  always  under 
the  express  control  of  governments,  and  in  charge 
of  a  few  people  who  alone  have  the  secret  of  posi- 
tion and  control.  Therefore  responsibility  for  ac- 
cident, or  worse,  is  centralized  and  specific. 

At  Havana  the  regulations  were  severe  against 
the  ownership  of  explosives  by  private  parties. 
The  government  rigorously  controlled  the  impor- 
tation and  sale  of  explosives.  It  was  seemingly 
impracticable  to  obtain  any  large  amount  of  ex- 
plosives, except  through  the  acquiescence  of  some 
official.  A  knowledge  of  the  secret  operation  of 
large  mines  as  against  due  official  vigilance  was 
not  likely  to  be  possessed  at  Havana  by  private 
parties  acting  alone.  After  the  explosion  the 
Spanish  authorities  endeavored  to  control  access 
to  the  Maine  and  to  prevent  an  independent  in- 
vestigation by  the  United  States.  Although  they 

187 


The  "Maine" 

demanded  an  investigation  of  the  interior  of  the 
Maine  for  themselves,  they  objected  to  an  ex- 
terior investigation  by  the  United  States.  The 
Spanish  government  in  Cuba  had  allowed  rioters 
to  go  unpunished.  The  Spanish  investigation 
was  superficial  and  its  findings  were  prejudged 
by  officials.  After  the  explosion  there  was  not 
a  free-handed  demonstration  that  no  mines  had 
existed  in  the  harbor  of  Havana  at  the  Maine  s 
berth  at  the  time  of  the  explosion.  A  general 
declaration  by  General  Weyler  that  there  were 
no  mines  planted  during  his  administration  was 
not  acceptable  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
The  war  developed  the  fact  that  the  Spaniards 
had  mines  in  large  number  in  Cuba.  It  was 
known  in  the  United  States  that  there  were 
mines,  planted  or  unplanted,  at  Havana. 

On  April  6  the  "  Heraldo,"  the  leading  and 
most  influential  evening  paper  in  Madrid,  pub- 
lished a  very  circumstantial  interview  with  Vice- 
Admiral  Beranger,  secretary  of  the  navy  in  the 
last  Conservative  cabinet  of  Spain.  Among 
other  things,  he  stated  that  an  attack  on  their 
island  ports  was  not  to  be  feared,  because 
"  Havana,  as  well  as  Cienfuegos,  Nuevitas,  and 
Santiago  are  defended  by  electrical  and  automo- 
bile torpedoes,  which  can  be  worked  at  a  great 

1 88 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

distance  [have  a  large  radius  of  action].  Sefior 
Canovas  del  Castillo,  who  did  not  neglect  these 
things,  arranged,  in  agreement  with  me,  for  the 
shipping  to  Cuba  of  one  hundred  and  ninety 
torpedoes,  which  are  surely  located  in  these  ports 
at  present.  The  transportation  and  installation 
of  these  war  machines  was  in  charge  of  the  dis- 
tinguished torpedoist  Sefior  Chacon."  Canovas, 
it  will  be  remembered,  was  assassinated  on 
August  8,  1897. 

Notwithstanding  the  influence  on  public  opin- 
ion in  the  United  States  flowing  from  these  con- 
siderations, the  war  was  officially  prosecuted  in- 
dependent of  the  affair  of  the  Maine.  Certainly 
no  American  is  likely  to  feel  more  deeply  than  I 
in  respect  to  any  policy  growing  out  of  that 
great  disaster;  but  it  is  very  gratifying  to  my 
national  pride  that  we,  as  a  nation,  have  been 
proof  against  all  suspicion  and  against  all  argu- 
ment, short  of  actual  demonstration.  We  have 
heard  much  of  the  motto,  "  Remember  the 
Maine."  If  we  are  satisfied  that  the  Maine  was 
blown  up  from  the  outside  we  have  a  right  to 
remember  her  with  indignation ;  but  without 
more  conclusive  evidence  than  we  now  have,  we 
are  not  right  if  we  charge  criminality  to  persons. 
Therefore  I  conceive  that  the  motto,  "  Remem- 

189 


The  "  Maine" 

ber  the  Maine''  used  as  a  war-cry  would  not 
have  been  justifiable.  I  should  like  to  make  the 
point  here,  as  I  have  made  it  elsewhere,  that  this 
great  and  free  country,  with  its  education,  good 
intention,  and  universal  moral  influence,  may  go 
to  war  to  punish,  but  not  to  revenge.  Improp- 
erly applied,  the  motto,  "  Remember  the  Maine" 
savors  too  much  of  revenge,  too  much  of  evil  for 
evil;  but  it  may  be  used  in  an  entirely  worthy 
sense. 

During  the  recent  war  with  Spain  about 
seventy-five  men  were  killed  and  wounded  in  the 
United  States  navy.  Only  seventeen  were  killed. 
On  board  the  Maine  two  hundred  and  fifty-two 
men  were  killed  outright  and  eight  died  later 
—  nearly  fifteen  times  as  many  as  were  killed 
in  the  United  States  navy  by  the  Spanish  land 
and  naval  forces  during  the  entire  war.  In  the 
way^that  the  men  of  the  Maine  died  and  suffered 
there  was  enough  of  the  heroic  to  provide  a 
sound  foundation  for  the  motto,  "  Remember  the 
Maine." 

Let  me  dismiss  the  prevailing  impression 
that  this  motto  was  used  in  the  United  States 
navy,  in  the  recent  war,  as  a  battle-signal.  No 
United  States  naval  vessel  entered  into  action 
flying  the  signal,  "  Remember  the  Maine"  I 

190 


The  Wrecking  and  the  Inquiry 

am  glad  that  it  can  be  so  stated;  yet  one  may 
excuse  many  mistaken  expressions  in  the  heat  of 
action. 

It  may  be  further  stated  that  the  signal  was 
once  used  in  the  United  States  Coast  Signal- 
Service  by  a  signal  quartermaster  (an  enlisted 
man),  who  hoisted  it  from  his  station  when  a 
transport  with  troops  was  passing  out  to  sea.  In 
reporting  the  departure  of  the  transport,  as  was 
his  duty,  the  quartermaster  added  to  his  message 
to  headquarters  the  fact  that  he  had  displayed 
the  signal.  He  was  severely  reprimanded  by 
return  message  over  the  wire. 

On  July  13,  when  I  boarded  the  wreck  of  the 
Infanta  Maria  Teresa  as  she  lay  on  the  rocks  of 
Cuba,  with  dead  men  still  in  her,  I  believed  and 
said,  as  I  stood  there,  that  although  the  Spanish 
vessels  had  been  brought  to  ruin  after  full  prepa- 
ration and  in  fair  fight,  the  greater  dignity  be- 
longed to  the  Maine,  which  was  lost  on  the 
instant  and  without  warning.  • 

A  naval  commander  both  idealizes  and  per- 
sonifies his  ship.  When  he  leaves  her  —  or  loses 
her  —  he  dismisses  from  his  mind  the  petty  vex- 
ations of  sea  life  and  remembers  only  the  nobler 
qualities  of  his  shipmates  and  his  ship.  I  shall 
always  remember  the  Maine  with  as  much  pride 

191 


The  "Maine" 

as  any  commander  who  is  completely  satisfied 
with  his  command  could  possibly  feel.  The  offi- 
cers and  men  who  were  lost  with  the  Maine  were 
as  worthy  and  true  patriots  as  those  we  have  lost 
in  battle.  Their  fate  was  a  sadder  one.  May 
God  be  good  to  them ! 


192 


APPENDICES 


ia 


APPENDIX   A 

TECHNICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  "  MAINE  " 

THE  following  account  of  the  Maine  is  drawn  almost 
wholly  from  a  paper  by  Chief  Engineer  A.  W.  Morley, 
U.  S.  N.,  printed  in  the  "Journal  of  the  Society  of  Ameri- 
can Engineers,"  February,  1895,  and  entitled  "Contract 
Trial  of  the  United  States  Armored  Cruiser1  Maine." 

The  Maine,  a  twin-screw  armored  cruiser  of  about 
6650  tons  displacement,  was  built  at  the  navy-yard,  New 
York,  from  designs  furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Con- 
struction and  Repair  of  the  Navy  Department,  and 
was  the  largest  vessel  built  in  any  of  our  navy-yards. 
In  external  appearance  and  in  arrangement  of  battery, 
she  resembled  the  Brazilian  ship  Riachuelo ;  but  she 
was  larger  and  had  thicker  armor  and  heavier  guns. 
The  machinery  was  built  by  N.  F.  Palmer,  Jr.,  &  Co., 
the  Quintard  Iron  Works  of  New  York  city,  from  de- 
signs furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering  of 
the  Navy  Department,  the  contract  price  of  the  ma- 
chinery being  $735,000.  The  contract  price  called  for 
an  indicated  horse-power  of  9000  for  the  main  engines 
and  the  air  and  circulating  pump  engines,  with  a  pre- 

1  See  page  6,  second  paragraph. 
195 


Appendix  A 

mium  of  one  hundred  dollars  to  be  paid  for  each  in- 
dicated horse-power  in  excess  of  the  requirement,  and 
a  penalty  of  like  amount  to  be  deducted  for  each  horse- 
power below  that  amount.  Her  keel  was  laid  on  October 
17,  1888,  and  her  hull  was  launched  on  November  18, 
1890.  The  contract  for  the  construction  of  her  ma- 
chinery was  signed  on  April  3,  1889,  and  the  engines 
erected  in  the  ship  and  operated  on  August  31,  1891. 
An  official  dock  trial  was  made  on  July  21  and  22, 
1893.  She  was  commissioned  September  17,  1895, 
and  left  the  navy-yard,  New  York,  on  November  5, 
1895,  drawing  twenty-two  feet  one  inch  forward  and 
twenty-one  feet  eight  inches  aft. 

The  hull  was  constructed  of  mild  steel,  and  all  of  the 
material  used  was  of  domestic  manufacture.  The  outside 
keel-plate  was  five  eighths  of  an  inch,  the  inner  plate  a 
half-inch,  and  the  vertical  keel  a  half-inch  thick.  The 
outer  bottom  plating  was  a  half-inch  thick,  with  a  double 
sheer-strake ;  the  plating  of  the  inner  bottom  was  five 
sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick.  The  frames  were  spaced 
four  feet  throughout  the  length  of  the  double  bottom, 
and  three  feet  at  the  ends. 

She  was  divided  into  two  hundred  and  fourteen  water- 
tight compartments,  and  had  a  double  bottom  extend- 
ing from  Frame  18  to  Frame  67,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  ninety-six  feet,  and  running  up  to  the 
shelf  for  the  armor  belt.  In  the  wake  of  the  double 
bottom  there  were  four  longitudinals  on  each  side,  and 
under  the  engines  and  boilers  intermediate  longitudinals 
were  introduced. 

196 


Technical  Description  of  the  "  Maine  " 

There  were  twenty  coal-bunker  compartments,  ten  on 
each  side  of  the  vessel,  extending  down  from  the  pro- 
tective deck,  with  wing  bunkers  at  each  end  of  each 
fire-room,  extending  inboard  to  the  fronts  of  the 
boilers.  The  total  capacity,  in  tons  of  forty-two  cubic 
feet,  was  eight  hundred  and  twenty-five  tons.  The 
bunkers  were  filled  through  trunks  leading  down  from 
the  main-deck,  delivering  directly  into  the  several  main 
compartments  and  to  the  wing  bunkers,  being  so  ar- 
ranged that  but  little  trimming  of  the  coal  was  required 
until  the  bunkers  were  nearly  filled. 

DIMENSIONS  OF  HULL 

Length  between  perpendiculars,  feet 310 

Length  over  all,  feet  and  inches 324,  4 

Beam,  extreme,  at  L.  W.  L.,  feet 57 

Draft,  mean,  normal,  feet  and  inches 21,  6 

Area  immersed  midship  section,  square  feet 1.077 

Displacement,  tons,  at  21  feet  6  inches "6,650 

Tons  per  inch 32.32 

Center  of  buoyancy  above  base-line,  feet  and  inches     ...         12,  3^ 
Center  of  buoyancy  aft  of  midship  section,  feet  and  inches     .  2,  1 1 

Center  of  gravity  below  C.  B.,  feet  and  inches 3,  I 

Transverse  metacenter  above  C.    B.,  feet 12 

Longitudinal  metacenter  above  C.  B.,  feet 324 

Coefficient   of   displacement,  prismoidal,  feet 0.596 

Coefficient  of  displacement,  cylindrical,  feet 0.669 

Coefficient  of   midship  section,   feet 0.878 

Coefficient  of  L.  W.  L.,  feet 0.747 

Area  of  L.  W.  L.  plane,  square  feet 13,560 

Wetted   surface,    square  feet 23»77° 

For  a  length  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  amid- 
ships there  was  a  water-line  belt  of  vertical  Harveyized 
steel  armor,  extending  from  three  feet  above  to  four 

197 


Appendix  A 

feet  below  the  water-line,  twelve  inches  in  thickness 
from  the  top  to  one  foot  below  the  water-line,  whence  it 
tapered  to  seven  inches  at  the  bottom.  The  wood  backing 
was  eight  inches  thick,  and  the  plating  behind  this  was  in 
two  thicknesses  of  a  half-inch  each,  stiffened  by  horizon- 
tal angle-bars  six  by  three  and  a  half  inches,  and  by 
plates  five  sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick,  worked  intercostally 
between  the  vertical  frames,  and  connected  with  them 
by  angle-bars  two  and  a  half  by  two  and  a  half  inches. 

The  bolts  for  securing  the  armor  were  two  and  two 
and  eight  tenths  inches  in  diameter,  with  nuts  and  india- 
rubber  cups  and  washers  on  the  inner  ends  of  the  bolts. 
The  wood  backing  was  secured  to  the  skin  plating  by 
bolts  one  and  one  eighth  inches  in  diameter. 

At  the  forward  end  of  the  armor  belt  there  was  an 
athwartship  bulkhead  of  steel  six  inches  in  thickness, 
with  the  backing  generally  arranged  as  for  the  side 
armor. 

The  protective  deck,  constructed  in  two  layers  of  one 
inch  each,  extended  from  the  armored  bulkhead  to  the 
after-end  of  the  side  armor,  whence  it  sloped  below  the 
water-line  with  a  thickness  of  three  inches. 

There  was  an  armored  conning-tower  built  of  steel,  ten 
inches  thick,  elliptical  in  shape,  from  which  an  armored 
tube  four  and  a  half  inches  thick  extended  down  to  the 
armored  deck  to  protect  the  steering-gear,  voice-tubes, 
electric  wires,  and  connections  of  the  engine-room  tele- 
graphs. 

There  were  two  revolving  turrets,  each  fitted  with  two 
ten-inch  breech-loading  rifled  guns,  placed  high  enough 

198 


Technical  Description  of  the  "  Maine  " 

to  admit  of  their  all  being  fired  simultaneously  on  a 
line  parallel  with  the  center-line  of  the  ship,  each  hav- 
ing an  unobstructed  fire  through  an  angle  of  180° 
on  one  side,  and  through  an  angle  of  64°  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  Each  turret  had  eight  inches  of  Harvey- 
ized  steel  armor,  with  plate  backing,  frames,  etc. 
The  revolving  parts  of  the  turrets,  and  the  spaces  for 
working  and  loading  the  guns,  were  protected  by  a  fixed 
barbette  of  mild  steel  armor  twelve  inches  in  thickness, 
fitted  to  a  wood  and  steel-plate  backing,  and  secured  by 
bolts  and  nuts,  as  described  for  the  side  armor.  The 
turrets  and  guns  were  worked  by  hydraulic  gear.  Be- 
sides the  turret  guns  there  were  six  six-inch  breech- 
loading  rifles,  two  mounted  forward  inside  the  super- 
structure-deck firing  directly  ahead,  two  abaft  the  cabins 
firing  directly  astern,  and  one  on  each  side  on  the  central 
superstructure-deck. 

The  ten-inch  and  the  six-inch  guns  could  be  fired 
in  broadside,  throwing  a  weight  of  projectile  on  each 
side  of  about  twenty-four  hundred  pounds  at  one  dis- 
charge. 

The  six-inch  guns  were  worked  by  hand  on  central- 
pivot  carriages,  and  were  protected  by  steel  shields  two 
inches  thick. 

The  secondary  battery  consisted  of  seven  six-pounder 
Driggs-Schroeder  rapid-fire  guns,  four  one-pounder 
Hotchkiss,  four  one-pounder  Driggs-Schroeder,  and 
four  machine-guns  (Gatling). 

There  were  four  tubes  for  Whitehead  torpedoes,  two 
on  each  side,  discharging  directly  from  the  berth-deck. 

199 


Appendix  A 

The  ship's  motive  power  was  supplied  by  two  vertical, 
inverted-cylinder,  direct-acting,triple-expansion  engines, 
in  water-tight  compartments  separated  by  a  fore-and- 
aft  bulkhead.  The  high-pressure  cylinder  of  each 
engine  was  placed  aft  and  the  low-pressure  cylinder 
forward,  the  latter  being  so  arranged  that  it  could  be 
disconnected  when  working  at  low  power,  and  the 
high-  and  intermediate-pressure  cylinders  used  under 
economical  condition  as  a  compound  engine. 

The  diameter  of  her  cylinders  was  as  follows :  high- 
pressure  cylinder,  thirty-five  and  a  half  inches;  inter- 
mediate-pressure cylinder,  fifty-seven  inches;  low- 
pressure  cylinder,  eighty-eight  inches;  stroke  of  all 
pistons,  thirty-six  inches. 

Her  propellers  were  made  of  manganese  bronze,  and 
were  four-bladed  twin  screws.  The  diameter  of  her 
propellers  was  fourteen  feet  six  and  a  half  inches,  and 
their  pitch,  as  set  on  her  trial  trip,  starboard,  16.08  feet ; 
port,  16.114  feet. 

She  had  eight  single-ended  steel  boilers  of  the  hori- 
zontal return-fire  tube  type,  with  three  corrugated  fur- 
naces in  each  boiler  and  a  separate  combustion  cham- 
ber for  each  furnace.  The  boilers  were  placed  in  two 
equal  groups  in  two  water-tight  compartments,  with  a 
central  fore-and-aft  fire-room  in  each  compartment. 
There  was  one  smoke-pipe,  oval  in  cross-section,  for 
each  group  of  boilers.  The  boilers  had  573.84  square 
feet  of  grate  surface.  She  was  provided  with  a  force- 
draft  system  in  each  boiler  compartment,  for  which  she 
had  two  Sturtevant  blowers.  Located  in  the  after-part 

200 


Technical  Description  of  the  "  Maine  " 

of  the  ship,  well  below  the  protective  deck,  was  a 
combined  hand-and-steam  steering-engine  of  Wil- 
liamson Brothers'  patent.  The  steering-engine  was 
capable  of  putting  the  helm  hard  over  from  amidships 
in  ten  seconds  when  the  vessel  was  making  a  speed  of 
seventeen  knots.  It  could  be  operated  either  at  the 
engine  or  from  the  conning-tower,  the  pilot-house  or 
the  bridge.  She  was  provided  with  steam-capstan  and 
-windlass,  excellent  distilling  apparatus,  electric  plant 
for  lighting  and  minor  purposes,  and  with  an  ice- 
making  plant  and,  in  connection  therewith,  a  cold- 
storage  compartment.  For  turning  the  turrets,  hoist- 
ing ammunition,  and  loading  and  working  the  turret 
guns,  she  was  provided  with  a  hydraulic  pumping 
plant.  Large  and  small,  everything  counted,  she 
carried  fifteen  boats,  including  two  steam-launches  or 
-cutters. 

The  official  trial  for  horse-power  took  place  on 
October  17,  1894,  in  Long  Island  Sound.  The  Maine 
left  her  anchorage  off  New  London  Light  at  12  M., 
and  proceeded  out  through  the  Race,  and  when  on 
Watch  Hill  was  turned  and  headed  to  the  westward  in 
order  to  make  as  nearly  as  practicable  a  straightway 
run  for  the  four  consecutive  hours'  trial  required  by 
the  contract. 

The  trial  began  at  I  130  P.  M.,  and  ended  at  5  130. 
The  weather  conditions  were  not  very  favorable,  for 
throughout  the  entire  run  the  ship  was  steaming  against 
a  strong  head  wind  and  sea,  which  increased  in  force  to 
the  end  of  the  trial.  The  ship  was  remarkably  steady, 

2OI 


Appendix  A 

and  at  the  maximum  speed  of  the  engines  very  little 
vibration  was  noticeable. 

The  speed  was  very  accurately  obtained  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  trial,  while  running  over  the  official  mea- 
sured course  laid  down  for  the  trial  of  the  Ericsson. 
The  average  speed  for  this  2 5 -mile  course  was  15.95 
knots,  or,  with  a  mean  allowance  of  1.5  knots  for  the 
strong  head  wind  and  tide,  17.45  knots. 


2O2 


APPENDIX   B 

FOR  THE  "VIZCAYA'S  "  SAFETY1 

LOCAL   POLICE    AND    FEDERAL   NAVY   TO    GUARD   THE 
SPANISH    WAR-SHIP 

UNUSUAL  precautions  have  been  taken  by  the  gov- 
ernment authorities  and  Chief  of  Police  McCullagh  to 
prevent  any  possibility  of  any  act  of  violence  against 
the  Vizcaya.  Lieutenant  Alexander  Sharp,  Jr.,  U.  S.  N., 
who  is  attached  to  the  office  of  Assistant  Secretary  [of 
the  Navy]  Roosevelt,  visited  police  headquarters  at  a 
very  early  hour  yesterday  morning,  together  with 
Ensign  Paine,  U.  S.  N.,  and  Lieutenant  J.  G.  Sobral, 
naval  attache  of  the  Spanish  legation  at  Washington. 

They  inquired  for  Chief  McCullagh,  but  were  told 
that  the  chief  was  at  home  in  bed.  Captain  Vree- 
denburgh,  who  was  on  duty  at  headquarters  Thursday 
night,  was  called  from  his  bed,  and  saw  the  visitors. 

As  a  result  of  the  visit,  Chief  McCullagh  was  com- 
municated with  by  telephone,  and  he  at  once  issued 
orders  to  all  captains  of  precincts  in  the  Borough  of 
Manhattan  to  hold  their  men  in  reserve. 

l  Extract  from  the  New  York  "  Herald,"  Saturday,  February  19,  1898. 

203 


Appendix  B 

Lieutenant  Sharp,  Ensign  Paine,  and  Lieutenant 
Sobral  then  left,  but  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning 
called  again,  and  had  an  interview  with  Chief  McCul- 
lagh  lasting  for  more  than  an  hour.  After  they  had 
gone,  the  chief  said  their  visit  was  to  deliver  a  request 
by  Rear-Admiral  Bunce,  commandant  of  the  Brooklyn 
navy-yard,  that  policemen  be  detailed  to  act  in  con- 
junction with  the  navy-yard  authorities  for  protection 
of  the  Vizcaya. 

Chief  McCullagh  made  public  this  letter,  which  he 
sent  to  the  rear-admiral  in  the  morning : 

In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  have  ordered  Captain  Elbert 
O.  Smith  of  this  department,  who  is  in  command  of  the  steam- 
boat Patrol,  to  furnish  a  detail  of  one  roundsman  and  four 
patrolmen  to  each  tugboat  assigned  by  you  to  patrol  the  waters 
of  New  York  harbor  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Spanish  battle-ship 
Vizcaya. 

I  have  arranged  with  Ensign  Paine  to  establish  tours  of  patrol 
duty  around  the  vessel  above  named,  as  follows :  Two  tugs  to  pa- 
trol in  the  vicinity  for  eight  hours,  to  be  relieved  by  two  tugs 
from  the  harbor,  these  to  be  relieved  in  turn  by  two  steam-launches 
from  the  Police  Department,  thus  establishing  a  patrol  system  dur- 
ing the  entire  twenty-four  hours,  the  men  assigned  to  such  service 
doing  tours  of  eight  hours  on  and  sixteen  hours  off;  such  a  force 
of  marines  to  be  supplied  to  each  boat  as  in  your  judgment  is 
necessary. 

Chief  McCullagh  to-day  told  me  his  letter  to  Rear- 
Admiral  Bunce  gave  all  the  explanation  concerning 
Lieutenant  Sharp's  visit  that  he  cared  to  give  out  at 
present. 

"  The  detail  of  police,"  he  said,  "  will  be  under 

204 


For  the  "  Vizcaya's  "  Safety 

command  of  Captain  Elbert  O.  Smith  of  the  harbor 
police,  who  will  have  sixty-seven  men  assigned  to  him 
for  this  duty.  The  police  steamboat  Patrol  and  six 
police  launches  will  be  available  for  patrol  duty,  and 
will  work  together  with  the  force  from  the  navy- 
yard. 

"  I  do  not  believe,  however,  that  there  will  be  any 
necessity  for  the  use  of  the  police  nor  for  the  force  that 
is  to  be  detailed  from  the  navy-yard  for  patrol  duty. 
The  Vizcaya  will  be  perfectly  safe  in  New  York  har- 
bor, and  the  steps  which  are  being  taken  by  the 
government  and  the  Police  Department  are  simply 
precautionary. 

"  The  patrol  will  be  kept  up  every  hour  of  the  day 
and  night  while  the  Spanish  man-of-war  is  in  this  port, 
and  no  craft  of  any  description  whatsoever  will  be 
permitted  to  approach  her  unless  its  mission  is  fully 
explained  to  the  officer  in  command  of  the  patrol. 
Just  how  close  the  picket-lines  around  the  war-ship 
will  be  drawn  is  a  matter  that  will  be  determined  by 
the  navy-yard  authorities." 

Chief  McCullagh  rescinded  in  the  afternoon  the  or- 
der directing  all  the  police  reserves  on  duty.  He 
declined  to  make  any  explanation  why  he  had  ordered 
the  reserves  on  duty  or  why  he  had  rescinded  the 
order. 

Lieutenant  Sharp  and  his  companions  visited  police 
headquarters  in  Jersey  City,  where  they  saw  Chief 
Murphy  and  told  him  the  police  of  his  city  might  be 
asked  to  cooperate  with  the  New  York  police. 

205 


Appendix  B 

Police  Captain  Smith  had  his  men  in  readiness  all 
day  at  the  quarters  of  the  harbor  police,  on  Pier  A, 
waiting  for  word  of  the  Vizcaya  being  sighted.  When 
word  came  that  she  had  been  sighted  off  Point  Pleas- 
ant, New  Jersey,  he  started  down  the  bay  in  the  steam- 
boat Patrol,  accompanied  by  several  launches. 


206 


APPENDIX   C 

FULL   FINDINGS   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES  COURT  OF 
INQUIRY 

U.  S.  S.  "  IOWA  "  (first-rate), 

KEY  WEST,  FLORIDA, 
Monday,  March  21,  1898,  10  A.  M. 

THE  court  met  pursuant  to  the  adjournment  of  yes- 
terday. 

Present :  All  the  members  and  the  judge-advocate. 

The  record  of  last  day's  proceedings  was  read  over 
and  approved. 

The  court  was  then  cleared  for  deliberation. 

After  full  and  mature  consideration  of  all  the  testi- 
mony before  it,  the  court  finds  as  follows : 

I.  That  the  United  States  battle-ship  Maine  arrived 
in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  Cuba,  on  the  twenty-fifth 
day  of  January,  1898,  and  was  taken  to  buoy  No.  41 
in  from  five  and  a  half  to  six  fathoms  of  water  by  the 
regular  government  pilot. 

The  United   States  consul-general  at   Havana  had 

1  Known  at  Havana  as  No.  4,  of  the  United  States  Hydrographic 
but  numbered  5  on  Chart  No.  307  Office. 

2O7 


Appendix  C 

notified  the  authorities  at  that  place,  the  previous  even- 
ing, of  the  intended  arrival  of  the  Maine. 

2.  The  state  of  discipline  on  board  the  Maine  was 
excellent,  and  all  orders  and  regulations  in  regard  to 
the  care  and  safety  of  the  ship  were  strictly  carried  out. 

All  ammunition  was  stowed  in  accordance  with  pre- 
scribed instructions,  and  proper  care  was  taken  when- 
ever ammunition  was  handled. 

Nothing  was  stowed  in  any  one  of  the  magazines  or 
shell- rooms  which  was  not  permitted  to  be  stowed  there. 

The  magazines  and  shell-rooms  were  always  locked 
after  having  been  opened,  and  after  the  destruction  of 
the  Maine  the  keys  were  found  in  their  proper  place  in 
the  captain's  cabin,  everything  having  been  reported 
secure  that  evening  at  8  P.  M. 

The  temperatures  of  the  magazines  and  shell-rooms 
were  taken  daily  and  reported.  The  only  magazine 
which  had  an  undue  amount  of  heat  was  the  after  ten- 
inch  magazine,  and  that  did  not  explode  at  the  time  the 
Maine  was  destroyed. 

The  torpedo  war-heads  were  all  stowed  in  the  after- 
part  of  the  ship,  under  the  ward-room,  and  neither 
caused  nor  participated  in  the  destruction  of  the  Maine. 

The  dry  guncotton  primers  and  detonators  were 
stowed  in  the  cabin  aft,  and  remote  from  the  scene  of 
the  explosion. 

Waste  was  carefully  looked  after  on  board  the  Maine 
to  obviate  danger.  Special  orders  in  regard  to  this  had 
been  given  by  the  commanding  officer. 

Varnishes,  driers,  alcohol,  and  other  combustibles  of 

208 


Full  Findings  of  the  Court  of  Inquiry 

this  nature  were  stowed  on  or  above  the  main-deck,  and 
could  not  have  had  anything  to  do  with  the  destruction 
of  the  Maine. 

The  medical  stores  were  stowed  aft,  under  the  ward- 
room, and  remote  from  the  scene  of  the  explosion. 

No  dangerous  stores  of  any  kind  were  stowed  below 
in  any  of  the  other  store-rooms. 

The  coal-bunkers  were  inspected  daily.  Of  those 
bunkers  adjacent  to  the  forward  magazines  and  shell- 
rooms,  four  were  empty,  namely,  63,  64,  65,  B6.  Ai5 
had  been  in  use  that  day,  and  Ai6  was  full  of  New 
River  coal.  This  coal  had  been  carefully  inspected 
before  receiving  it  on  board.  The  bunker  in  which  it 
was  stowed  was  accessible  on  three  sides  at  all  times, 
and  the  fourth  side  at  this  time  on  account  of  bunkers 
64  and  B6  being  empty.  This  bunker,  Ai6,  had  been 
inspected  that  day  by  the  engineer  officer  on  duty. 

The  fire-alarms  in  the  bunkers  were  in  working  order, 
and  there  had  never  been  a  case  of  spontaneous  com- 
bustion of  coal  on  board  the  Maine. 

The  two  after-boilers  of  the  ship  were  in  use  at  the 
time  of  the  disaster,  but  for  auxiliary  purposes  only, 
with  a  comparatively  low  pressure  of  steam,  and  being 
tended  by  a  reliable  watch. 

These  boilers  could  not  have  caused  the  explosion  of 
the  ship.  The  four  forward  boilers  have  since  been 
found  by  the  divers,  and  are  in  a  fair  condition. 

On  the  night  of  the  destruction  of  the  Maine  every- 
thing had  been  reported  secure  for  the  night  at  8  P.  M. 
by  reliable  persons,  through  the  proper  authorities,  to 
14  209 


Appendix  C 

the  commanding  officer.  At  the  time  the  Maine  was 
destroyed  the  ship  was  quiet,  and,  therefore,  least  lia- 
ble to  accident  caused  by  movements  from  those  on 
board. 

3.  The  destruction  of  the  Maine  occurred  at  9 :  40  P.  M. 
on  the  fifteenth  day  of  February,  1898,  in  the  harbor 
of  Havana,  Cuba,  she  being  at  the  time  moored  to  the 
same  buoy   to  which  she  had   been   taken  upon  her 
arrival.     There    were    two    explosions  of   a    distinctly 
different  character,  with  a  very  short  but  distinct  inter- 
val between  them,  and  the  forward  part  of  the  ship  was 
lifted  to  a  marked  degree  at  the  time  of  the  first  explo- 
sion.    The  first  explosion  was  more  in  the  nature  of  a 
report  like  that  of  a  gun,  while  the  second  explosion 
was   more   open,   prolonged,   and   of   greater   volume. 
This  second  explosion  was,  in  the  opinion  of  the  court, 
caused  by  the  partial  explosion  of  two  or  more  of  the 
forward  magazines  of  the  Maine. 

4.  The  evidence  bearing  upon  this,  being  principally 
obtained  from  divers,  did  not  enable  the  court  to  form 
a  definite  conclusion  as  to  the  condition  of  the  wreck, 
although  it  was  established  that  the  after-part  of  the 
ship  was  practically  intact,  and  sank  in  that  condition  a 
very  few  minutes  after  the  destruction  of  the  forward 
part. 

The  following  facts  in  regard  to  the  forward  part  of 
the  ship  are,  however,  established  by  the  testimony : 

A  portion  of  the  port  side  of  the  protective  deck, 
which  extends  from  about  Frame  30  to  about  Frame  41, 
was  blown  up,  aft,  and  over  to  port.  The  main-deck, 

210 


Full  Findings  of  the  Court  of  Inquiry 

from  about  Frame  30  to  about  Frame  41,  was  blown  up, 
aft,  and  slightly  over  to  starboard,  folding  the  forward 
part  of  the  middle  superstructure  over  and  on  top  of 
the  after-part. 

This  was,  in  the  opinion  of  the  court,  caused  by  the 
partial  explosion  of  two  or  more  of  the  forward  maga- 
zines of  the  Maine. 

5.  At  Frame  17  the  outer  shell  of  the  ship,  from  a 
point  eleven  and  a  half  feet  from  the  middle  line  of  the 
ship  and  six  feet  above  the  keel  when  in  its  normal 
position,  has  been  forced  up  so  as  to  be  now  about  four 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  therefore  about 
thirty-four  feet  above  where  it  would  be  had  the  ship 
sunk  uninjured. 

The  outside  bottom  plating  is  bent  into  a  reversed  V 
shape  (/\),  the  after- wing  of  which,  about  fifteen  feet 
broad  and  thirty-two  feet  in  length  (from  Frame  1 7  to 
Frame  25),  is  doubled  back  upon  itself  against  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  same  plating,  extending  forward. 

At  Frame  18  the  vertical  keel  is  broken  in  two  and 
the  flat  keel  bent  into  an  angle  similar  to  the  angle 
formed  by  the  outside  bottom  plating.  This  break  is 
now  about  six  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
about  thirty  feet  above  its  normal  position. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  court,  this  effect  could  have 
been  produced  only  by  the  explosion  of  a  mine  situated 
under  the  bottom  of  the  ship  at  about  Frame  18  and 
somewhat  on  the  port  side  of  the  ship. 

6.  The  court  finds  that  the  loss  of  the  Maine  on  the 
occasion  named  was  not  in  any  respect  due  to  fault  or 

211 


Appendix  C 

negligence  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  officers  or  members 
of  the  crew  of  said  vessel. 

7.  In  the  opinion  of  the  court,  the  Maine  was  destroyed 
by  the  explosion  of  a  submarine  mine,  which  caused  the 
partial  explosion  of  two  or  more  of  the  forward  maga- 
zines. 

8.  The  court  has  been  unable  to  obtain  evidence  fix- 
ing the  responsibility  for  the  destruction  of  the  Maine 
upon  any  person  or  persons. 

W.  T.  SAMPSON, 
Captain  U.  S.  N.,  President. 

A.  MARIX, 

Lieutenant-Commander  U.  S.  N., 
Judge- Advocate. 


212 


APPENDIX   D 

MESSAGE   OF  THE   PRESIDENT   OF   THE   UNITED 
STATES 

To  the  Congress  of  the  United  States : 

For  some  time  prior  to  the  visit  of  the  Maine  to 
Havana  harbor,  our  consular  representatives  pointed 
out  the  advantages  to  flow  from  the  visit  of  national 
ships  to  the  Cuban  waters,  in  accustoming  the  people  to 
the  presence  of  our  flag  as  the  symbol  of  good  will  and 
of  our  ships  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  mission  of  protec- 
tion to  American  interests,  even  though  no  immediate 
need  therefor  might  exist. 

Accordingly,  on  the  24th  of  January  last,  after  con- 
ference with  the  Spanish  minister,  in  which  the  renewal 
of  visits  of  our  war-vessels  to  Spanish  waters  was  dis- 
cussed and  accepted,  the  peninsular  authorities  at 
Madrid  and  Havana  were  advised  of  the  purpose  of 
this  government  to  resume  friendly  naval  visits  at 
Cuban  ports,  and  that  in  that  view  the  Maine  would 
forthwith  call  at  the  port  of  Havana. 

This  announcement  was  received  by  the  Spanish 
government  with  appreciation  of  the  friendly  character 
of  the  visit  of  the  Maine,  and  with  notification  of  inten- 

213 


Appendix  D 

tion  to  return  the  courtesy  by  sending  Spanish  ships  to 
the  principal  ports  of  the  United  States.  Meanwhile 
the  Maine  entered  the  port  of  Havana  on  the  2  5th  of 
January,  her  arrival  being  marked  with  no  special  inci- 
dent besides  the  exchange  of  customary  salutes  and 
ceremonial  visits. 

The  Maine  continued  in  the  harbor  of  Havana  during 
the  three  weeks  following  her  arrival.  No  appreciable 
excitement  attended  her  stay ;  on  the  contrary,  a  feeling 
of  relief  and  confidence  followed  the  resumption  of  the 
long-interrupted  friendly  intercourse.  So  noticeable 
was  this  immediate  effect  of  her  visit  that  the  consul- 
general  strongly  urged  that  the  presence  of  our  ships  in 
Cuban  waters  should  be  kept  up  by  retaining  the 
Maine  at  Havana,  or,  in  the  event  of  her  recall,  by 
sending  another  vessel  there  to  take  her  place. 

At  forty  minutes  past  nine  in  the  evening  of  the  I5th 
of  February  the  Maine  was  destroyed  by  an  explosion,  by 
which  the  entire  forward  part  of  the  ship  was  utterly 
wrecked.  In  this  catastrophe  two  officers  and  two 
hundred  and  sixty-four  of  her  crew  perished,  those 
who  were  not  killed  outright  by  her  explosion  being 
penned  between  decks  by  the  tangle  of  wreckage  and 
drowned  by  the  immediate  sinking  of  the  hull. 

Prompt  assistance  was  rendered  by  the  neighboring 
vessels  anchored  in  the  harbor,  aid  being  especially 
given  by  the  boats  of  the  Spanish  cruiser  Alfonso  XII 
and  the  Ward  line  steamer  City  of  Washington,  which 
lay  not  far  distant.  The  wounded  were  generously 
cared  for  by  the  authorities  of  Havana,  the  hospitals 

214 


Message  of  the  President 

being  freely  opened  to  them,  while  the  earliest  recov- 
ered bodies  of  the  dead  were  interred  by  the  municipal- 
ity in  a  public  cemetery  in  the  city.  Tributes  of  grief 
and  sympathy  were  offered  from  all  official  quarters  of 
the  island. 

The  appalling  calamity  fell  upon  the  people  of  our 
country  with  crushing  force,  and  for  a  brief  time  an 
intense  excitement  prevailed,  which  in  a  community  less 
just  and  self-controlled  than  ours  might  have  led  to 
hasty  acts  of  blind  resentment.  This  spirit,  however, 
soon  gave  way  to  the  calmer  processes  of  reason,  and  to 
the  resolve  to  investigate  the  facts  and  await  material 
proof  before  forming  a  judgment  as  to  the  cause,  the 
responsibility,  and,  if  the  facts  warranted,  the  remedy 
due.  This  course  necessarily  recommended  itself  from 
the  outset  to  the  Executive,  for  only  in  the  light  of  a 
dispassionately  ascertained  certainty  could  it  determine 
the  nature  and  measure  of  its  full  duty  in  the  matter. 

The  usual  procedure  was  followed  as  in  all  cases  of 
casualty  or  disaster  to  national  vessels  of  any  maritime 
state.  A  naval  court  of  inquiry  was  at  once  organized, 
composed  of  officers  well  qualified  by  rank  and  practical 
experience  to  discharge  the  onerous  duty  imposed  upon 
them.  Aided  by  a  strong  force  of  wreckers  and  divers, 
the  court  proceeded  to  make  a  thorough  investigation 
on  the  spot,  employing  every  available  means  for  the 
impartial  and  exact  determination  of  the  causes  of  the 
explosion.  Its  operations  have  been  conducted  with 
the  utmost  deliberation  and  judgment,  and  while 
independently  pursued,  no  attainable  source  of  infor- 

215 


Appendix  D 

mation  was  neglected,  and  the  fullest  opportunity  was 
allowed  for  a  simultaneous  investigation  by  the  Spanish 
authorities. 

The  finding  of  the  court  of  inquiry  was  reached, 
after  twenty-three  days  of  continuous  labor,  on  the 
2  ist  of  March,  instant,  and,  having  been  approved  on 
the  22d  by  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  United  States 
naval  force  on  the  North  Atlantic  Station,  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  Executive. 

It  is  herewith  laid  before  the  Congress,  together  with 
the  voluminous  testimony  taken  before  the  court. 

Its  purport  is,  in  brief,  as  follows : 

When  the  Maine  arrived  at  Havana  she  was  con- 
ducted by  the  regular  government  pilot  to  buoy  No.  4, 
to  which  she  was  moored  in  from  five  and  a  half  to  six 
fathoms  of  water. 

The  state  of  discipline  on  board,  and  the  condition  of 
her  magazines,  boilers,  coal-bunkers,  and  storage  com- 
partments, are  passed  in  review,  with  the  conclusion 
that  excellent  order  prevailed,  and  that  no  indication  of 
any  cause  for  an  internal  explosion  existed  in  any 
quarter. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  February  15 
everything  had  been  reported  secure,  and  all  was  quiet. 

At  forty  minutes  past  nine  o'clock  the  vessel  was 
suddenly  destroyed. 

There  were  two  distinct  explosions,  with  a  brief 
interval  between  them. 

The  first  lifted  the  forward  part  of  the  ship  very  per- 
ceptibly ;  the  second,  which  was  more  open,  prolonged, 

216 


Message  of  the  President 

and  of  greater  volume,  is  attributed  by  the  court  to  the 
partial  explosion  of  two  or  more  of  the  forward  maga- 
zines. 

The  evidence  of  the  divers  establishes  that  the  after- 
part  of  the  ship  was  practically  intact  and  sank  in  that 
condition  a  very  few  moments  after  the  explosion.  The 
forward  part  was  completely  demolished. 

Upon  the  evidence  of  a  concurrent  external  cause  the 
finding  of  the  court  is  as  follows : 

At  Frame  17  the  outer  shell  of  the  ship,  from  a  point  eleven 
and  a  half  feet  from  the  middle  line  of  the  ship  and  six  feet  above 
the  keel  when  in  its  normal  position,  has  been  forced  up  so  as  to 
be  now  about  four  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  therefore 
about  thirty-four  feet  above  where  it  would  be  had  the  ship  sunk 
uninjured. 

The  outside  bottom  plating  is  bent  into  a  reversed  V  shape 
( A  )>  the  after-wing  of  which,  about  fifteen  feet  broad  and  thirty- 
two  feet  in  length  (from  Frame  17  to  Frame  25),  is  doubled  back 
upon  itself  against  the  continuation  of  the  same  plating,  extending 
forward. 

At  Frame  18  the  vertical  keel  is-broken  in  two  and  the  flat  keel 
bent  into  an  angle  similar  to  the  angle  formed  by  the  outside  bot- 
tom plating.  This  break  is  now  about  six  feet  below  the  surface  of 
the  water,  and  about  thirty  feet  above  its  normal  position. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  court,  this  effect  could  have  been  produced 
only  by  the  explosion  of  a  mine  situated  under  the  bottom  of  the 
ship  at  about  Frame  18,  and  somewhat  on  the  port  side  of  the 
ship. 

The  conclusions  of  the  court  are : 

That  the  loss  of  the  Maine  was  not  in  any  respect  due 
to  fault  or  negligence  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  officers 
or  members  of  her  crew ; 

217 


Appendix  D 

That  the  ship  was  destroyed  by  the  explosion  of  a 
submarine  mine,  which  caused  the  partial  explosion  of 
two  or  more  of  her  forward  magazines ;  and 

That  no  evidence  has  been  obtainable  fixing  the 
responsibility  for  the  destruction  of  the  Maine  upon 
any  person  or  persons. 

I  have  directed  that  the  finding  of  the  court  of  in- 
quiry and  the  views  of  this  government  thereon  be 
communicated  to  the  government  of  her  Majesty  the 
Queen  Regent,  and  I  do  not  permit  myself  to  doubt 
that  the  sense  of  justice  of  the  Spanish  nation  will  dic- 
tate a  course  of  action  suggested  by  honor  and  the 
friendly  relations  of  the  two  governments. 

It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  to  advise  the 
Congress  of  the  result,  and  in  the  meantime  deliberate 
consideration  is  invoked. 

WILLIAM  MCKINLEY. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  March  28,  1898. 


218 


APPENDIX   E 

ENSIGN  POWELSON'S  PERSONAL  REPORT  TO  CAPTAIN 

SIGSBEE  ON  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  EXPLOSION  OF 

THE  "  MAINE  " 

U.  S.  S.  "FERN," 

HAVANA,  CUBA,  March  20,  1898. 

I  BELIEVE  the  Maine  was  blown  up  by  forces  exter- 
nal to  the  ship.  There  is,  to  my  mind,  abundant  positive 
proof  of  the  fact,  for  we  know  accurately  the  condition 
of  a  large  portion  of  the  forward  body  of  the  ship. 

First,  consider  the  present  condition  of  the  ship,  and 
see  how  far  it  bears  out  the  hypothesis  of  an  initial  ex- 
plosion in  one  of  the  forward  magazines.  The  initial 
explosion,  if  it  was  internal,  must  have  occurred  in  one 
of  four  places :  the  forward  six-inch  magazine  between 
Frames  18  and  21  ;  the  six-pounder  magazine  between 
Frames  2 1  and  24 ;  the  reserve  six-inch  magazine  on  the 
port  side  between  Frames  24  and  30 ;  or  the  ten-inch 
magazine  on  the  starboard  side  between  the  same  frames. 

Consider  that  an  explosion  occurred  initially  in  the 
forward  six-inch  magazine,  and  see  how  far  the  condi- 
tion of  the  ship  in  that  vicinity  supports  the  hypothesis. 

219 


Appendix  E 

Many  six-inch  powder-tanks  have  been  found,  and 
two  of  these  have  been  found  full  of  powder.  One  of 
these  full  tanks  presents  an  appearance  which  was  un- 
questionably produced  by  an  approximately  uniform 
pressure  external  to  the  tank.  The  metal  of  the  tank 
has  been  pressed  closely  about  the  powder  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  metal  was  molded  to  the  form  of  the 
powder,  and  shows  longitudinally  the  angles  formed  by 
the  prismatic  grains  as  they  were  arranged  in  the  bag. 

This  pressure  to  which  I  have  referred  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  break  the  tank,  and  the  temperature  was  not 
sufficient  to  ignite  the  powder.  Almost  every  one  of 
the  battered  and  broken  six-inch  tanks  presented  the 
same  longitudinal  convolutions  as  were  noticed  in  the 
full  six-inch  tanks. 

A  great  many  of  the  tanks  contained  unburned  ex- 
celsior packing,  and  some  still  contained  the  bags  in 
which  the  powder  was  put  up.  Many  six-inch  shells 
were  found  over  the  powder-tanks  in  the  ten-inch  mag- 
azine, and  a  few  were  sent  up  [by  divers].  One  of  these 
shell  had  its  wooden  nose-block  and  its  sling  entirely 
intact. 

There  was  absolutely  no  sign  of  burning  anywhere 
about  it.  Many  of  these  six-inch  shell  had  the  slings 
still  attached. 

Just  forward  of  the  six-inch  magazine  and  next  the 
ship's  side  on  the  port  side  was  a  store-room  in  which 
some  old  ropes  and  general  stores  were  stowed.  This 
room  was  fitted  with  horizontal  boarding  next  the  ship's 
side.  A  part  of  this  store-room  is  now  visible  about 

22O 


Ensign  Powelson's  Personal  Report 

two  feet  under  water,  and  the  boarding  is  still  attached 
to  the  ship's  side  and  is  absolutely  unburned.  The 
side  was  bent  at  this  store-room  at  about  Frame  15  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  outside  plating  aft  of  Frame  15 
was  folded  against  the  side  plating  forward  of  Frame 
15,  which  forms  the  side  of  the  store-room,  the  outer 
or  green  sides  of  the  plating  being  now  adjacent.  The 
angle  of  this  fold  was  originally  vertical,  and  followed 
Frame  15.  The  boarding  is  still  attached  to  the  plating 
of  the  forward  half  of  the  store-room,  and  projects  aft 
intact  beyond  the  fold  at  Frame  15. 

If  this  folding  of  the  side  plating  had  been  produced 
by  a  pressure  from  within  the  ship  at  about  Frame  18, 
where  the  six-inch  magazine  was  located,  the  boarding 
would  have  been  pushed  out  with  the  side  and  would 
have  been  broken  at  Frame  15,  where  the  angle  of  the 
fold  occurs.  Only  a  pressure  from  without,  pushing  the 
plating  in  forward  of  Frame  15,  or  an  internal  pressure 
applied  some  distance  aft  of  Frame  15,  could  have  pro- 
duced the  present  condition  of  boarding  and  plating. 
If  the  six-inch  magazine  with  its  forward  bulkhead  at 
Frame  18  had  been  the  seat  of  an  explosion  initial  or 
secondary,  and  had  blown  the  side  plating  out  aft  of 
Frame  15,  it  would  also  have  blown  the  boarding  against 
the  side  out,  too.  As  it  was,  the  boarding,  which  is  only 
lightly  secured  to  the  frames,  was  pulled  away  from  the 
side  aft  of  Frame  15  by  a  bending  produced  by  forces 
without  the  ship. 

A  large  number  of  equipments,  such  as  haversacks, 
knapsacks,  canteens,  and  rubber  blankets,  were  stowed 

221 


Appendix  E 

outboard  just  aft  of  this  magazine.  They  were  found 
in  good  condition  and  absolutely  unburned.  The  inner 
skin  and  outer  skin  under  the  six-inch  magazine  are 
closer  together  than  they  were  originally,  but  there  is 
no  evidence  that  this  has  been  produced  by  a  pressure 
above  the  inner  skin.  In  fact,  the  appearance  of  the 
broken  dogs  which  held  down  the  manhole  plate  would 
indicate  a  pressure  from  underneath.  All  these  details 
taken  together  preclude  any  possibility  of  an  initial 
explosion  at  the  forward  six- inch  magazine. 

Consider  the  initial  explosion  as  having  occurred  in 
the  six-pounder  magazine. 

The  inner  skin  under  it  is  still  attached  to  the  frame, 
and  shows  no  signs  of  having  been  blown  down.  The 
equipments — haversacks,  etc.,  to  which  I  have  referred 
— were  stowed  outboard  next  this  magazine,  and  were 
found  intact.  Many  six-pounder  shells  have  been  found, 
but  in  none  of  them  was  the  base  fuse  blown  out,  nor 
was  the  point  at  the  nose  broken,  nor  was  an  exploded 
shell  found. 

The  shell  in  most  cases  have  been  detached  from  the 
brass  case,  and  these  cases  have  been  found  badly  bat- 
tered, some  of  them  apparently  having  been  exploded. 
Such  explosion  could  not  have  occurred  while  the  shell 
were  still  attached  to  the  cases,  or  broken  shell  would 
have  been  found.  Some  six-pounder  shell  were  sent  up 
unexploded,  with  brass  cases,  though  badly  battered,  still 
attached  to  them,  and  full  of  powder.  These  shell  and 
cases  were  found  over  the  shells  and  tanks  of  the  ten- 
inch  magazine.  Had  this  six-pounder  magazine  been 

222 


Ensign  Powelson's  Personal  Report 

the  point  of  initial  explosion  caused  by  fire  within  the 
ship,  the  additional  heat  and  pressure  produced  by  an 
explosion  of  the  first  few  charges  would  have  been 
sufficient,  in  all  probability,  to  have  fired  most  of  the  other 
charges. 

Consider  an  initial  explosion  in  the  ten-inch  magazine. 

In  this  case  the  superstructure  would  not  have  been 
blown  upward  and  from  port  to  starboard,  as  is  now  the 
case.  The  main-  and  berth-decks  would  not  have  been 
raised  on  the  port  side  as  they  are  now  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  ship  in  the  vicinity  of  the  after-half  of  the 
superstructure  has  an  apparent  list  to  starboard,  while 
that  part  of  the  ship  aft  of  the  superstructure  has  a  de- 
cided list  to  port.  The  beam  supporting  the  protec- 
tive deck  at  the  armor-tube  is  broken  at  the  midship 
line,  and  the  rivets  on  the  starboard  side  are  sheered 
sharply  from  port  to  starboard.  The  port  side  of  the 
beam  is  bent  sharply  up  against  the  conning-tower  sup- 
ports. The  protective  deck  supporting  the  armor-tube 
and  conning-tower  supports  is  bent  up  on  the  port  side 
and  bent  down  on  the  starboard  side  of  the  armor-tube. 
All  the  shafting  coming  down  through  the  armor-tube 
has  been  bent  sharply  from  port  to  starboard  where  it 
comes  through  the  protective  deck.  The  fore-and-aft 
beam  of  the  main-deck  in  the  midship  line  just  forward 
of  the  conning-tower  supports  has  been  broken  where 
it  crosses  a  thwartship  beam,  and  both  ends  have  been 
pushed  sharply  from  port  to  starboard. 

The  light-box  in  the  starboard  ten-inch  magazine 
bulkhead  was  found  in  very  fair  condition,  and  the 

223 


Appendix  E 

bulkhead  was  merely  bent  outboard  and  not  blown 
through.  There  was  still  coal  in  the  bunker  on  the  out- 
board side  of  this  bulkhead.  On  this  bulkhead,  which 
had  been  bent  outward  and  down,  and  near  the  light- 
box,  was  found  a  manhole  plate  from  the  inner  bottom. 
The  tongue  and  groove  boarding  of  the  magazine,  some 
of  which  was  broken  off  by  a  diver  and  sent  up,  was 
found  absolutely  unburned.  A  ten-inch  powder-tank 
was  found  full  of  powder.  More  were  found  in  such 
good  condition  as  to  bar  absolutely  any  possibility  of 
having  been  exploded. 

Many  were  found  with  the  powder-bags  still  in  them 
and  with  the  excelsior  packing  unburned.  Almost  all 
the  tanks  had  longitudinal  convolutions  such  as  I  have 
referred  to  in  the  six-inch  tanks.  Many  six-inch  shell 
and  many  six-pounder  shell  are  now  lying  on  the  pow- 
der-tanks of  the  ten-inch  magazine,  where  they  had 
evidently  been  thrown  by  the  elevation  of  the  keel  to 
its  present  perpendicular  form  between  Frames  18  and 
23.  The  after-part  of  the  ten-inch  magazine  is  covered 
with  debris  to  the  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet.  A 
great  many  ten-inch  shell  are  still  in  the  ten-inch-shell 
room,  and  some  of  them  are  still  arranged  symmetrically 
in  their  racks. 

Where  the  ten-inch  magazine  bulkheads  join  the 
magazine  floor  the  original  right  angle  is  approximately 
preserved,  the  bending  of  the  magazine  bulkheads  being 
greatest  at  the  upper  part. 

All  these  details  and  conditions  disprove  any  theory 
of  an  initial  explosion  in  the  ten-inch  magazine. 

224 


Ensign  Powelson's  Personal  Report 

Consider  an  initial  explosion  in  the  reserve  six-inch 
magazine.  Alongside  of  and  just  outboard  of  this 
magazine  was  a  bunker  full  of  coal  containing  forty-one 
and  a  half  tons  of  coal.  If  the  explosion  of  this  magazine 
had  been  initial,  caused  by  heat  from  without  or  sponta- 
neous combustion  from  within,  the  pressure  of  gases  in  it 
would  have  increased  until  sufficient  to  burst  the  water- 
tight bulkheads.  If  we  consider  that  this  was  the  case, 
and  that  on  bursting  the  force  of  impact  of  the  gases  on 
the  decks  above  was  sufficient  to  lift  the  superstructure 
and  conning-tower  and  double  them  back,  then  it  must 
be  admitted  that  an  explosion  of  such  force  must  cer- 
tainly have  blown  out  the  two  light  coal- bunker  bulk- 
heads and  the  side  plating,  for  their  strength  was  little 
compared  to  that  of  the  heavy  decks  above  the  magazine. 
Had  these  bulkheads  and  the  side  plating  been  blown 
out,  coal  would  have  been  found  in  the  mud  on  the  port 
side  in  large  quantities  and  for  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  ship.  But  this  was  not  found  to  be  the  case. 
Practically  no  coal  or  plating  was  found  outboard  of  the 
line  of  the  ship  on  the  port  side.  The  ten-inch  shell 
were  found  in  large  numbers  in  the  ten-inch-shell  room, 
which  was  immediately  adjacent  to  this  magazine.  The 
splinters  of  the  wood  backing  still  attached  to  the 
armor-plate  aft  of  Frame  41  all  pointed  inboard,  and  the 
whole  bottom  of  the  ship  forward  of  Frame  41  was  lifted 
as  a  whole,  although  part  of  it  in  this  vicinity  was  blown 
completely  away  and  there  is  now  no  trace  of  it.  The 
inner  and  outer  skins  of  that  part  of  the  bottom  still 
remaining  have  been  pushed  closer  together,  but  the 
15  225 


Appendix  E 

inner  skin  has  not  been  bulged  downward  between 
frames,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  an  internal  pressure 
having  been  applied  to  it.  These  details  clearly  show 
that  while  the  reserve  six-inch  magazine,  of  which  and 
of  the  contents  of  which  we  have  no  trace,  may  have 
been  ignited  by  an  external  explosion  under  the  ship 
on  the  port  side,  and  may  have  aided  in  lifting  and 
wrecking  the  superstructure,  it  could  not  possibly  have 
been  the  seat  of  the  initial  explosion. 

Consider  now  the  condition  of  the  forward  body  of 
the  ship  forward  of  Frame  43. 

The  keel  is  no  longer  in  its  original  position.  An 
accurate  survey  shows  that  the  whole  bottom  of  the 
ship  has  been  lifted. 

The  keel  rises  at  a  gentle  slope  from  Frame  43  to 
about  Frame  22.  It  is  then  doubled  back  upon  itself 
for  a  distance  of  about  three  feet  through  an  angle  of 
about  1 60°,  and  is  then  bent  vertically  upward,  and  the 
vertical  keel  is  broken  at  Frame  18,  and  that  part  of  the 
keel  forward  of  Frame  18  has  been  turned  to  port 
through  a  horizontal  angle  of  about  86°  and  bent 
downward  through  an  angle  of  about  50°.  The  side 
plating  has  been  pushed  in,  forming  a  V,  the  apex  of 
which  follows  Frame  1 7  from  the  keel  to  a  point  five 
feet  above  the  second  longitudinal  on  the  port  side. 

Another  V  has  been  formed  by  the  side  plating 
being  bent  in  on  the  port  side.  The  apex  of  this  V 
follows  Frame  15  from  a  point  five  feet  above  the  sec- 
ond longitudinal  to  the  water-line.  The  forward  body 
of  the  ship  forward  of  Frame  18  has  been  bent  to  port 

226 


Ensign  Powelson's  Personal  Report 

through  a  right  angle  nearly,  and  has  been  rolled  over 
until  it  now  rests  in  the  mud  on  the  starboard  side. 

The  outer  and  inner  bottom  have  been  pushed  to- 
gether closer  than  originally  throughout  almost  all  that 
part  of  the  ship  between  Frames  43  and  18,  and  the 
vertical  keel  and  longitudinals  are  buckled  to  starboard. 

The  whole  port  side  of  the  ship  from  Frame  26  to 
Frame  41  above  the  third  longitudinal,  about,  is  gone, 
and  there  is  no  definite  trace  of  it.  Aft  of  Frame  41  on 
the  port  side,  for  a  distance  of  thirty  feet,  the  side  plat- 
ing above  armor  has  been  blown  in.  The  decks  at  this 
frame  are  inclined  to  starboard  and  aft,  while  the  after- 
part  of  the  ship  has  a  decided  list  to  port.  The  splin- 
ters of  the  wood  backing  of  the  armor  points  inboard  on 
the  port  side.  The  armor  on  the  port  side  forward  of 
Frame  41  is  blown  away.  While  the  ship  at  Frame  41, 
by  the  position  of  her  decks,  appears  to  list  to  starboard, 
the  bottom  of  the  armor-plating  of  the  port  side  is  one 
foot  in  the  mud,  and  a  similar  point  on  the  starboard 
[side]  is  about  twelve  feet  above  the  mud. 

The  starboard  side  of  the  ship,  under  water  body,  is 
blown  outward  forward  of  Frame  41,  but  is  not  blown 
away.  The  plating  has  been  bent  out,  and  now  lies 
horizontal  in  the  mud.  Both  coal  and  plating  are 
found  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  starboard  side 
in  large  quantities,  while  in  similar  places  on  the  port 
side  nothing  but  mud  is  found.  The  armor-plates  on 
the  starboard  side  forward  of  Frame  41  were  blown  out, 
leaving  a  part  of  their  wood  backing  still  attached  to  the 
plates  aft  of  Frame  41,  and  projecting  five  feet  farther 

227 


Appendix  E 

forward,  with  splinters  all  pointing  outboard.  The  man- 
hole plate,  which  was  found  lying  on  the  starboard  ten- 
inch  magazine  bulkhead  near  the  light-box,  had  still 
attached  to  it  half  of  the  rim  to  which  its  hinges  were 
attached  and  which  secured  it  to  the  inner  skin. 

This  plate  had  three  small  cracks  on  its  under  surface, 
and  the  rim  was  bent  in  such  a  manner  as  could  only 
have  been  produced  by  a  pressure  from  underneath  lift- 
ing one  end  of  the  manhole  plate,  breaking  the  rim  in 
two  across  the  minor  axis  of  the  plate,  and  tearing  the 
part  of  the  rim  now  attached  to  the  plate  by  one  hinge 
from  the  inner  skin.  A  rivet  was  still  attached  to  this 
rim,  and  was  bent  into  an  arc,  showing  that  the  plate  was 
lifted  up  at  one  end  of  its  major  axis,  the  other  end  act- 
ing as  a  center  of  motion.  One  of  the  cracks  to  which 
I  have  referred  as  having  been  produced  by  a  pressure 
from  below  extended  across  the  plate  directly  under 
and  parallel  to  the  heavy  stiffener  cast  on  the  top  side 
of  the  plate. 

The  second  port  longitudinal  at  Frame  17  is  now 
above  water.  The  strake  of  bottom  plating  containing 
a  sea- valve  between  Frames  23  and  24  just  above  the 
second  longitudinal  is  broken  horizontally  across  the 
hole  for  the  valve,  and  a  radial  crack  runs  down  from 
the  lowest  point  of  the  hole  for  a  distance  of  about 
eight  inches.  This  indicates  a  probable  pressure  from 
the  outside  of  the  ship,  which,  entering  into  the  sea- 
valve,  would  act  as  a  wedge,  and  would  tend  to  crack 
and  break  the  plate  as  has  been  done. 

A  hole  six  feet  deep  and  fifteen  feet  in  diameter  was 

228 


Ensign  Powelson's  Personal  Report 

found  in  the  mud,  about  a  week  after  the  explosion,  for- 
ward where  the  keel  at  about  Frame  6  now  lies. 

From  the  drawings  showing  the  position  of  the  keel 
in  the  vertical  and  horizontal  planes,  it  is  probable  that 
before  the  explosion  .occurred  the  frames  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Frame  25  were  over  the  point  where  this 
hole  in  the  mud  was  found. 

The  ship  was  pushed  violently  from  port  to  starboard 
and  the  moorings  holding  fast  evidently  bent  the  bow 
around  to  its  present  position.  The  whole  present 
condition  of  the  ship  is  incompatible  with  the  theory  of 
an  initial  inside  explosion,  and  all  known  details  and 
conditions  bear  out  the  hypothesis  of  a  heavy  external 
explosion  on  the  port  side.  That  part  of  the  keel  which 
was  under  the  forward  six-inch  and  six-pounder  maga- 
zines is  now  vertical  with  the  inner  and  outer  skin, 
jammed  together  in  places.  The  port  side  is  blown  in, 
and  the  starboard  side  is  blown  out.  While  the  violence 
of  the  explosion  was  sufficient  to  blow  away  nearly 
sixty  feet  of  the  side  from  the  second  longitudinal  to 
the  main-deck,  so  that  no  recognizable  trace  remains, 
the  force  on  the  starboard  side  was  merely  sufficient  to 
fold  out  the  coal-bunker  bulkheads  and  side  plating  to 
a  horizontal  position.  The  large  horizontal  angle  made 
by  the  keel  forward  of  Frame  18  and  the  keel  aft  of 
Frame  18  indicates  a  very  heavy  outside  explosion  on 
the  port  side.  The  side  plating  above  armor  on  the 
port  side  at  and  for  some  twenty  feet  abaft  the  port 
crane  was  blown  sharply  in,  while  the  armor  under  it, 
with  its  strong  support,  held  fast.  This  is  in  a  measure 

229 


Appendix  E 

an  indication  of  the  gradual  decrease  of  the  force  of  the 
explosion  from  its  center,  and  indicates  a  heavy  explo- 
sion of  large  area. 

The  finding  of  so  many  six-inch  and  six-pounder  shell 
on  top  of  the  ten-inch  powder-tanks  indicates  that  these 
shell  were  spilled  out  of  their  magazines  when  the  keel 
under  them  was  elevated  to  its  present  vertical  position, 
and  that  they  are  still  on  top  of  the  ten-inch  powder- 
tanks  shows  that  there  was  no  general  explosion  in  the 
ten-inch  magazine. 

W.  V.  N.  POWELSON, 
Ensign  U.  S.  N. 


230 


APPENDIX   F 

FINDING   OF   THE    SPANISH    COURT   OF 
INSTRUCTION    [INQUIRY] 

To  Admiral  Manterola,  Naval  Commandant- General  of 
the  Station. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY:  On  the  night  of  February  15 
last  a  dreadful  and  extraordinary  event  disturbed  the 
usual  tranquillity  and  internal  order  of  this  bay.  A 
mournful  catastrophe  had  occurred  on  board  the  North 
American  ironclad  Maine. 

Having  been  instructed  by  your  Excellency,  in  the 
letter  which  gave  rise  to  the  present  proceedings,  to 
proceed  with  all  possible  promptitude  and  energy  to  the 
investigation  of  the  matter  in  question,  I  began  my  pre- 
liminary proceedings  while  the  flames  produced  by  the 
explosion  were  still  rising  from  the  vessel,  and  while 
some  lesser  [explosions,]  caused,  no  doubt,  by  the  action 
of  the  heat  upon  the  shells  and  other  explosives,  were 
heard  at  intervals. 

The  undersigned  immediately  ordered  all  persons  to 
be  summoned  who,  owing  to  their  being  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  said  vessel,  could  give  any  explanation  or  in- 
formation with  regard  to  the  disaster,  or  any  account 

231 


Appendix  F 

of  its  effects,  and  I  requested  the  attendance  of  an  offi- 
cial interpreter  of  the  government,  in  order  that  he  might 
act  as  such  in  the  taking  of  such  depositions  as  might 
necessitate  his  services,  and  I  wrote  to  the  consul  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  this  capital,  requesting 
the  attendance  of  such  of  the  principal  officers  and  men 
of  the  crew  of  the  Maine  as  might  be  in  a  condition  to 
testify. 

As  Don  Francisco  Javier  de  Salas,  a  lieutenant  in  the 
navy,  the  secretary  of  the  court  of  inquiry,  was  asked 
by  an  American  officer,  a  few  minutes  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  proceedings,  whether  the  explosion  could 
have  been  caused  by  a  torpedo,  notwithstanding  the  em- 
phatic expressions  of  public  opinion,  which  immediately 
rejected  this  supposition  as  absurd,  and  which  were  cor- 
roborated by  arguments  easily  understood  by  every 
naval  officer,  I  thought  it  expedient  to  direct  the  inves- 
tigation along  this  line,  on  account  of  the  facility  of 
obtaining  sufficient  data  to  show  the  external  action 
during  the  moments  following  submarine  explosions, 
which  are  so  peculiar  in  their  character,  and  so  well 
known  to  all  who  have  witnessed  them  and  studied 
them  in  their  effects. 

The  North  American  man-of-war  Maine,  of  6682 
tons  displacement,  made  of  steel,  318  feet  in  length,  57 
feet  beam,  and  22  feet  in  depth,  having  double  engines 
of  9293  indicated  horse-power,  launched  in  New  York 
in  1890,  entered  this  port  on  the  24th  of  January  of  this 
year,  and  anchored  at  buoy  No.  4  (see  the  part  of  the 
plan  at  folio  101).  The  undersigned  has  heard  unoffi- 

232 


Finding  of  the  Spanish  Court 

cially  the  reason  of  the  arrival  and  stay  in  these  waters 
of  the  ironclad  in  question.  For  this  it  was  sufficient 
to  call  to  mind  the  royal  order  of  August  n,  1882, 
which  permits  in  ordinary  times  of  peace  the  entrance 
of  foreign  squadrons  and  single  vessels  into  our  ports 
without  any  other  restrictions  than  those  prescribed  by 
the  ordinances  of  the  navy,  and  that  of  obedience  to 
the  police  regulations  established  in  those  ports. 

Taking  the  said  buoy  No.  4  [locally  No.  4,  but  No. 
5  on  Chart  307  of  the  United  States  Hydrographic 
Office]  as  the  center,  the  depth  of  the  bay  varies, 
within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  meters,  from  thirty  to 
thirty-six  feet,  with  a  bottom  of  loose  mud.  The 
Maine,  when  she  came  in,  drew  22  feet,  and  the  depth 
of  the  water  at  the  place  where  she  is  sunk  is  32  feet  at 
the  bow  and  30  feet  at  the  stern. 

On  the  night  of  the  sad  occurrence  the  Spanish 
cruiser  Alfonso  XII  was  anchored  at  buoy  No.  3,  and 
the  naval  steam- transport  Legaspi  at  No.  2,  distant  one 
hundred  and  forty  and  two  hundred  and  forty  meters, 
respectively,  from  the  said  buoy  No.  4. 

At  the  moment  of  the  explosion  there  was  no  wind, 
and  the  water  was  very  smooth,  as  it  usually  is  in  this 
bay  at  that  hour. 

The  rise  of  the  tide  in  the  harbor  is  one  and  a  half 
feet,  and  the  high  tide  on  that  day  was  at  4  P.  M. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  consideration  of  other  data, 
I  think  it  well  to  recall  to  your  Excellency's  enlight- 
ened mind  the  phenomena  which  accompany  the  ex- 
plosion of  a  submarine  mine,  meaning  thereby  what  is 

233 


Appendix  F 

known  under  the  generic  term  of  torpedo,  and  leaving 
aside  all  that  can  apply  exclusively  to  a  subterranean 
mine,  on  account  of  the  utter  impossibility  that  such  a 
mine  could  have  been  prepared  without  batteries 
\elementos\  or  even  with  batteries,  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  authorities  and  of  the  public  generally. 

The  ignition  of  the  torpedo  must  necessarily  have 
been  produced  either  by  collision  or  by  electrical  dis- 
charge ;  and  as  the  state  of  the  sea  and  the  wind  did  not 
allow  of  any  motion  in  the  vessel,  the  hypothesis  of  a 
collision  at  that  moment  must  be  rejected,  and  we  must 
consider  that  of  an  electric  current  sent  by  a  cable  [wire] 
from  a  station ;  but  no  traces  or  signs  of  any  wire  or 
station  have  been  discovered. 

The  phenomena  observed  in  submarine  explosions 
are  as  follows :  When  the  ignition  takes  place,  the  ex- 
plosive substance  is  converted  into  a  gaseous  one  and 
forms  a  bubble,  which,  owing  to  its  ascensional  force, 
tends  usually  to  rise  to  the  surface  in  a  vertical  line, 
producing  a  detonation  more  or  less  loud  in  proportion 
to  the  quantity  of  explosive  material  employed  and  the 
depth  at  which  it  is  placed,  and  accompanied  by  a  col- 
umn of  water,  the  height  of  which  is  likewise  in  pro- 
portion to  the  two  circumstances  mentioned. 

At  the  same  time  a  certain  quaking  \trepidacion\  is 
noticed  on  the  shore,  which  varies  directly  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  explosive  matter  used,  its  greater  im- 
mersion, and  its  nearness  to  the  bottom ;  and,  besides, 
a  very  peculiar  shock  is  observed  against  the  sides  of 
vessels,  which  varies  according  to  the  distance,  and 

234 


Finding  of  the  Spanish  Court 

which,  owing  to  the  incompressibility  of  the  water,  does 
not,  according  to  experiments,  diminish  in  inverse  pro- 
portion to  the  square  of  the  distance. 

Another  important  phenomenon,  to  which  great 
weight  should  be  attached  in  this  case,  on  account  of 
the  peculiar  nature  of  the  harbor,  is  the  presence  of 
dead  fish  on  the  surface  [of  the  water],  usually  caused 
by  the  rupture  of  the  natatory  bladder. 

The  action  of  torpedoes  on  vessels  is  very  variable, 
and  depends,  besides,  on  the  resistance  of  the  hull  which 
it  strikes,  the  quantity  of  the  explosive  matter,  and  the 
distance. 

No  known  case  has  yet  been  recorded  where  the 
explosion  of  a  torpedo  against  the  side  of  a  vessel  has 
caused  the  explosion  of  the  magazines. 

As  is  seen  by  the  plans  [diagrams],  there  was  nothing 
but  powder  and  shell  in  the  forward  magazines  of  the 
Maine. 

It  appears  from  the  examination  of  witnesses : 

Don  Julio  Peres  y  Perera,  naval  lieutenant  of  the  first 
class,  states  in  his  deposition  that  he  was  in  his  sheers- 
house  \casa  de  la  machina~\,  about  four  hundred  yards 
from  the  said  vessel,  when,  about  9:35  P.  M.,  he  saw  an 
enormous  blaze  of  fire  rise  toward  the  zenith  and  to  a 
great  height,  followed  by  a  terrible  explosion.  He  adds 
that  almost  the  whole  of  the  ironclad  was  covered  by  a 
thick  smoke,  that  the  illumination  was  instantaneously 
extinguished,  and  that  an  infinite  number  of  colored 
lights  passed  away  into  space.  The  moment  after  the 
explosion  all  was  dark  until,  a  little  later,  the  awful 

235 


Appendix  F 

scene  was  illuminated  by  the  brightness  of  the  fire, 
which  was  certainly  caused  by  the  explosion. 

The  witness  says  that  other  explosions,  apparently 
of  shell,  followed,  which  continued  until  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  at  which  hour  the  fire  began  to 
diminish. 

The  witness  saw  the  bow  sink  a  few  minutes  after  the 
explosion,  and  he  asserts  that  there  was  no  column  of 
water,  nor  the  least  movement  in  the  water  [mar],  and 
that  there  was  no  shaking  of  the  land  on  the  shore. 

The  other  depositions  of  witnesses  confirm  the  de- 
scription of  the  explosion  given  by  this  officer,  and  they 
all  agree  that  they  noticed  no  movement  in  the  water, 
and  that  they  felt  no  shock  of  the  water,  although  some 
of  them  were  on  board  vessels  as  near  the  Maine  as  the 
Alfonso  XII. 

During  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  the  under- 
signed, accompanied  by  the  secretary,  made  a  close 
examination  of  the  bay  without  finding  any  dead  fish, 
or  injuries  of  any  kind  on  the  piles  of  the  piers. 

Don  Francisco  Aldao,  the  head  pilot,  testifies  (page 
80  and  back)  that  the  harbor  of  Havana  abounds  in  fish, 
and  that  there  are  persons  who  devote  themselves  to 
this  industry  with  profit ;  and  the  technical  assistant  of 
the  junta  of  the  harbor  works,  Senor  Ardois,  who  has 
been  engaged  upon  them  for  many  years,  states  that, 
without  any  exception,  whenever  small  blasts  have  been 
made  with  charges  [of  powder]  varying  from  five  to 
twenty-five  pounds,  for  the  purpose  of  blowing  up  hulls 
of  vessels,  loose  rock,  and  even  shoals  in  the  bay,  a 

236 


Finding  of  the  Spanish  Court 

great  number  of  dead  fish  have  been  found  inside  the 
hulls  or  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

For  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  greatest  possible 
number  of  data,  several  experiments  were  made,  to 
which  the  diagrams  at  pages  160  and  161  refer. 

In  continuation  of  the  investigation,  on  the  i6th 
of  February  the  United  States  consul  was  requested, 
through  your  Excellency,  to  procure  the  attendance 
of  some  of  the  surviving  officers  and  sailors  of  the 
Maine,  in  order  to  receive  such  testimony  as  they 
might  see  fit  to  give  with  regard  to  the  occurrence.  On 
the  same  day,  through  the  same  medium,  permission 
was  requested  to  examine  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 
On  the  1 8th  of  February  I  again  applied  to  your  Excel- 
lency to  procure  from  the  commander  of  the  Maine, 
either  directly  or  through  his  consul,  exact  information 
as  to  the  quantity  of  explosives  still  existing  in  that  part 
of  the  vessel  which  had  not  been  burned.  On  the  2ist 
I  went  to  the  American  steamer  Mangrove  for  the  pur- 
pose of  having  an  interview  with  Mr.  Sigsbee,  the  com- 
mander of  the  Maine,  who  expressed  to  me  his  wish 
that  the  Spanish  investigators  might  be  present  at  the 
operations  of  the  American  official  diver.  On  the  same 
day  I  again  wrote,  asking  for  permission  to  proceed  to 
the  examination  of  the  ironclad.  On  the  22d  I  repeated 
my  visit  to  the  Mangrove. 

On  the  i  Qth  of  February  the  authorities  had  replied, 
stating  that,  by  agreement  with  the  commander  of  the 
Maine  and  the  United  States  consul-general,  the  ex- 
amination requested  in  my  letter  of  the  i8th  would  be 

237 


Appendix  F 

made  as  soon  as  those  gentlemen  received  the  appli- 
ances and  divers  whom  they  had  asked  for. 

On  the  24th  I  received  an  important  communica- 
tion, dated  February  17,  inclosing  one  from  his  Ex- 
cellency the  governor- general  of  this  island,  stating 
that  the  commander  of  the  Maine,  upon  being  consulted 
as  to  the  steps  necessary  to  the  success  of  this  investi- 
gation, had  replied  that  he  expected  to  execute  all  the 
operations  necessary  to  the  examination  of  the  vessel 
which  had  been  under  his  command  under  his  own 
supervision,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
regulations  of  the  American  navy. 

It  was  at  last  possible  to  make  use  of  the  new  mode 
of  investigation  offered  by  the  work  of  the  divers,  as  it 
was  discovered,  from  what  they  have  accomplished  up  to 
this  date,  that  the  hull  of  the  wrecked  vessel  is  appa- 
rently buried  in  the  mud,  and  that  the  examination  of 
the  outside  is  impracticable,  but  that  it  may  be  possible 
to  examine  the  inside  when  the  multitude  of  articles  of  all 
kinds  which  are  lying  in  confusion  in  it  have  been  removed. 

The  divers,  having  been  instructed  to  examine  and 
describe  everything  they  might  notice  at  the  bottom  of 
the  bay  and  nearest  to  the  sunken  vessel,  reported  that 
they  had  not  found  in  the  mud  which  forms  the  bottom 
any  inequalities  or  fissures — such  as  the  examination 
of  the  bottom  of  the  bay  at  the  place  occupied  by  the 
Maine  and  the  hull  \calado\  of  the  vessel  would  doubt- 
less have  brought  to  light,  on  the  supposition  that  a 
torpedo  had  been  the  cause  of  the  catastrophe.  This 
imaginary  explosive  apparatus  \artificio\  must  neces- 

238 


Finding  of  the  Spanish  Court 

sarily,  in  this  case,  have  been  placed  at  the  very  bottom 
of  the  bay  or  very  near  it,  and  when  it  exploded  would 
have  caused  the  gases  to  react  upon  it,  and,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  produced  a  greater  effect  upon  the  water 
upward,  it  would  have  made  large  fissures  \deforma- 
ciones\  in  the  mud. 

It  appears  from  the  examination  of  the  wreck  of  the 
Maine,  part  of  which  is  afloat,  made  by  the  under- 
signed, the  commandants  of  artillery,  the  commandant 
of  engineers,  and  the  commander  of  the  torpedo  bri- 
gade (the  report  of  which  appears  at  page  24),  that, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  original  cause  of  the  dis- 
aster, there  is  no  doubt  that  there  was  an  explosion  in 
the  forward  magazine,  which  entirely  destroyed  the 
decks  and  bulkheads,  which  now  display  the  appearance 
of  a  shapeless  mass  of  boards,  bars,  and  pipes  of  metal, 
very  difficult  to  describe.  In  particular  may  be  noticed 
a  large  fragment  of  the  forward  deck,  which  must 
have  been  raised  in  the  most  violent  manner  and  bent 
double  toward  the  stern  by  the  forward  stack-house, 
like  an  immense  sheet  of  iron,  with  a  considerable  in- 
clination to  starboard,  which,  upon  turning  over,  hurled 
out  of  the  ship  the  forward  turret,  containing  two  guns, 
which  was  situated  on  the  starboard  side,  and  another 
gun  with  a  shield,  which  was  placed  within  the  ship  on 
the  second  deck.  When  the  deck  was  bent  double,  as 
has  been  said,  the  smoke-stacks  must  have  fallen.  On 
the  present  upper  side  of  this  deck  may  be  seen  the 
beams  and  the  knees  which  fastened  them  to  the  sides 
of  the  ship. 

239 


Appendix  F 

The  whole  stern  is  submerged,  with  the  mainmast  in 
place  and  intact,  so  much  of  it  as  can  be  seen  above  the 
surface  of  the  water,  including  the  lights  [glasses]  of 
the  skylights  of  the  cabin  hatchways,  and  the  glasses  of 
one  projector  \^provector\. 

The  gentlemen  above  mentioned  assert  that  the  in- 
juries described  could  only  have  been  caused  by  the 
explosion  of  the  forward  magazine. 

In  order  to  give  a  better  idea  of  the  general  appear- 
ance presented  by  that  part  of  the  ship  which  has  been 
described,  photographs  were  taken,  which  are  shown  on 
page  125  and  following. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  stated,  it  is  proper  to 
insist  upon  the  fact  that  there  is  not  a  single  instance  on 
record,  as  has  been  already  said,  where  the  external 
action  of  the  torpedo  against  the  side  of  a  vessel  has 
caused  the  explosion  of  its  magazines,  although  many 
vessels  are  recorded  as  having  been  totally  destroyed 
by  torpedoes,  as  may  be  proved  by  C.  Sleeman's  work 
entitled  "  Torpedoes  and  Torpedo  Warfare,"  published 
in  London  in  1889,  in  which  treatise  there  is  a  detailed 
account,  extending  from  page  330  to  page  338,  inclu- 
sive, of  the  principal  events  of  this  nature  which  have 
occurred  from  1585  to  1885  \  a°d  this  inventory  of  ma- 
rine disasters  includes  a  great  number  of  United  States 
men-of-war  which  destroyed  Confederate  vessels  by 
means  of  torpedoes. 

H.  W.  Wilson's  treatise,  Vol.  II,  published  in  1896, 
and  entitled,  "  Ironclads  in  Action  ;  Naval  Warfare  from 
1855  to  1895,"  may  also  be  consulted  on  this  subject. 

240 


Finding  of  the  Spanish  Court 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  recorded  in  the  history 
of  all  the  nations  in  the  world,  and  especially  in  modern 
times,  a  proportionate  number  of  events  sufficing  to 
prove  the  comparative  facility  with  which  ships  of  war 
are  liable  to  become  the  victims  of  unknown  and  fatal 
accidents,  owing  to  combinations  which  may  result 
from  the  various  and  complicated  materials  employed 
in  their  construction  and  armament,  as  it  is  in  many 
cases  impossible  to  guard  against  them,  except  at  the 
cost  of  terrible  calamities. 

The  knowledge  of  the  spontaneous  combustion  of  the 
coal  in  the  coal-bunkers  is  within  the  reach  of  all,  and 
there  is  not  a  navy  officer  who  cannot  relate  some  sad 
episode  attributed  to  this  cause. 

The  danger  is  increased  when  the  coal- bunkers  are 
separated  from  the  powder-  and  ammunition-magazines 
only  by  a  bulkhead  of  iron  or  steel,  and  it  becomes 
imminent  when  the  heat  developed  in  the  coal  is  con- 
veyed to  the  magazines,  as  has  happened  in  several 
cases.  To  prevent  them,  recourse  has  been  had  to  the 
study  of  a  ventilation  sufficient  to  prevent  the  accumu- 
lation of  gases  and  the  development  of  caloric,  taking, 
in  addition,  the  temperature  of  the  coal-bunkers  at 
proper  intervals.  In  spite  of  all  this,  cases  of  sponta- 
neous combustion  have  occurred  repeatedly,  and  it  is 
astonishing  that  the  powder-  and  shell-magazines  should 
still  continue  to  be  placed  in  immediate  contact  with 
the  coal-bunkers. 

Don  Saturnine  Montojo,  an  illustrious  lieutenant  in 
our  navy,  relates  a  very  remarkable  case  which  hap- 
16  241 


Appendix  F 

pened  to  the  unfortunate  Reina  Regente  when  she  was 
being  built  at  Clydebank.  Senor  Montojo  says  that 
the  shafts  of  the  screws  passed  through  several  water- 
tight compartments,  which  together  formed  a  tunnel  for 
the  passage  of  the  shaft.  The  compartment  on  the  port 
side  of  that  of  the  wheel  of  the  helm  was  furnished 
with  a  register  \registro]  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting 
the  shaft,  and  upon  a  workman  attempting  to  draw  out 
a  small  screw  there  was  an  explosion,  causing  a  small 
fracture  of  the  side  on  the  exterior,  and  filling  the  stern 
compartments  of  the  vessel  with  water ;  but  the  ship  did 
not  sink  entirely,  thanks  to  the  other  water-tight  com- 
partments and  to  the  powerful  pumps  with  which  the 
ship  was  provided,  which  were  set  to  work  and  kept 
her  afloat. 

This  accident  was  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  com- 
partment in  question  had  no  ventilation.  It  is  evident 
that  gases  are  formed  in  any  one  of  the  places  men- 
tioned by  the  electric  action  developed  by  the  fatty 
substances  combined  with  the  paint,  the  water,  etc. 

If  there  is  any  ventilation,  these  gases  have  an  outlet ; 
but  if  there  is  none,  they  accumulate  and  finally  acquire 
a  certain  tension,  and  when  they  are  brought  into  con- 
tact with  a  light  or  sufficient  heat  their  explosion  fol- 
lows, as  frequently  occurs  in  mines  and  coal-bunkers. 
The  eighty  or  ninety  [coal-bunkers]  of  the  Reina  Regente 
had  each  a  ventilation-pipe  and  a  temperature-pipe. 
If,  notwithstanding  all  this,  any  accident  should  ob- 
struct or  clog  the  ventilation,  or  if  due  attention  is  not 
paid  to  the  temperature,  or  even  when  such  attention  is 

242 


Finding  of  the  Spanish  Court 

paid,  if  its  indications  are  not  good,  the  adoption  of 
urgent  measures  of  safety  will  merely  diminish  the 
danger,  without  making  it  disappear  entirely. 

The  loss  of  the  English  vessel,  the  Dotterel,  which 
has  been  so  much  studied  and  discussed,  was  due  to  the 
use  of  a  drier  [drying  oil]  employed  in  painting,  and 
known  under  the  name  of  the  "  zerotina  drier." 

In  trade  some  of  the  varnishes  and  ingredients  used 
in^  the  painting  of  vessels  are  now  recommended  by 
protecting  them  with  patents  as  not  liable  to  produce 
inflammable  gases. 

The  English  scientific  magazine,  the  "  Engineer," 
No.  2189,  of  December  10,  1897,  publishes  an  important 
article  entitled  "  Shell  Accident  at  Bull  Point,"  showing 
the  possibility  of  the  explosion  of  a  shell,  not  by  the 
fuse,  but  by  the  spontaneous  breaking  of  the  shell  itself. 
The  shell  of  which  the  author  of  the  article  speaks  was 
made  for  a  four-inch  gun,  weighed  twenty-five  pounds, 
used  the  Leadenham  fuse,  and  had  a  hardened  point, 
tempered  in  water. 

These  instances  suffice  to  prove  that,  in  spite  of  all 
the  precautions  that  may  be  taken,  there  may  occur  on 
board  of  modern  vessels,  especially  war-vessels,  many 
unforeseen  accidents,  arising  from  the  combination  of 
such  diverse  substances  as  those  which  are  employed  in 
their  armament,  so  difficult  and  dangerous  to  manage, 
accumulated  in  large  quantities  and  exposed  to  the 
action  of  heat  and  electricity  almost  constantly,  each 
unhappy  accident  serving  to  regulate  services  on  the 
basis  of  precautions,  and  to  cause  precautions  to  be 

243 


Appendix  F 

taken,  so  far  as  possible,  with  every  new  agent  which 
necessity  compels  us  to  accept  in  the  most  recent 
constructions. 

Consequently,  in  view  of  the  result  of  the  proceedings 
and  the  merits  of  the  observations  submitted,  the  under- 
signed considers  it  his  imperative  duty  to  state  the 
following  conclusions : 

1.  That  on  the  night  of  February  15  last  an  explosion 
of  the  first  order,  in  the  forward  magazine  of  the  Ameri- 
can ironclad  Maine,  caused  the  destruction  of  that  part 
of  the  ship,  and  its  total  submersion  in  the  same  place  in 
this  bay  at  which  it  was  anchored. 

2.  That  it  is  learned,  from  the  diagrams  of  the  vessel, 
that  there  were  no  other  explosive  substances  or  articles 
in  that  magazine — the  only  one  which  exploded — than 
powder  and  shells  of  various  calibers. 

3.  That  the  same  diagrams  prove  that  said  magazine 
was  surrounded  on  the  port  side,  the  starboard  side,  and 
partly  aft  by  coal-bunkers  containing  bituminous  coal, 
and  which  were  in  compartments   adjoining  the  said 
magazine,  and  apparently  separated  from  it  only  by 
metal  bulkheads. 

4.  That    the    important    facts    connected    with    the 
explosion  in  its  external  appearances  at  every  moment 
of  its  duration  having  been  described  by  witnesses,  and 
the  absence  of  all  the  circumstances  which  necessarily 
accompany  the   explosion   of  a  torpedo    having  been 
proved  by  these  witnesses  and  experts,  it  can  only  be 
honestly    asserted    that    the    catastrophe    was    due    to 
internal  causes. 

244 


Finding  of  the  Spanish  Court 

5.  That  the  character  of  the  proceedings  undertaken, 
and  respect  for  the  law  which  establishes  the  principle 
of  the  absolute  extraterritoriality  of  a  foreign  war- vessel, 
have  prevented  the  determination,  even  by  conjecture, 
of  the  said  internal  origin  of  the  disaster,  to  which,  also, 
the  impossibility  of  establishing  the  necessary  communi- 
cation, either  with  the  crew  of  the  wrecked  vessel,  or 
with  the  officials  of  their  government  commissioned  to 
investigate  the  causes  of  the  said  event,  or  with  those 
subsequently  intrusted  with  the  issue,  has  contributed. 

6.  That  the  interior  and  exterior  examination  of  the 
bottom  of  the  Maine  whenever  it  is  possible,  unless  the 
bottom  of  the  ship  and  that  of  the  place  in  the  bay 
where  it  is  sunk  are  altered  by  the  work  which  is  being 
carried  on  for  the  total  or  partial  recovery  of  the  vessel, 
will  prove  the  correctness  of  all   that   is  said  in  this 
report;  but  this  must  not  be  understood  to  mean  that 
the  accuracy  of  these  present  conclusions  requires  such 
proof. 

Believing  that  I  have  fulfilled  all  the  requirements  of 
Article  246,  Title  XIV,  Chapter  I,  of  the  Law  of  Military 
Procedure  of  the  Navy,  in  accordance  with  which,  and 
with  your  Excellency's  orders,  this  investigation  has 
been  made,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  this  report  to 
your  Excellency's  hands,  that  you  may  come  to  a  cor- 
rect decision  on  the  subject. 

PEDRO  DEL  PEDRAL  (Rubricated). 


HAVANA,  March  22,  1898. 


245 


APPENDIX   G 

NAMES  AND  RATES  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
"MAINE'S"  CREW  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  EX- 
PLOSION, TOGETHER  WITH  THE  ISSUE  THERE- 
FROM OF  EACH  MEMBER,  AND  THE  NAME  AND 
ADDRESS  OF  HIS  NEXT  OF  KIN  OR  NEXT  FRIEND, 
AS  BORNE  ON  THE  RECORDS  OF  THE  NAVY  DE- 
PARTMENT 

STATISTICAL   SUMMARY   OF   KILLED,   WOUNDED, 
SAVED,   ETC. 

Officers  attached           .         .         .         .         .  .26 

Officers  on  board  at  explosion  .          .         .         .  22 

Officers  on  shore  at  explosion       ....        4 

Crew  attached           ......  329 

Crew  on  board  at  explosion           .         .         .  .328 

Crew  at  Key  West  at  explosion          ...  i 

Total  officers  and  crew  attached     .          .          .  -355 

Total  officers  and  crew  at  Havana     .          .          .  354 

Total  officers  and  crew  on  board  at  explosion  .   350 

Officers  killed  .......  2 

Officers  on  board  saved         .          .         .         .  .20 

Officers  on  shore  saved     .....  4 

Total  officers  saved       ......     24 

246 


Appendix  G 

Crew  killed  at  explosion   .....       250 

Crew  died  later  of  wounds  at  Havana    .         .         .8 
Total  crew  lost          ......       258 

Total  officers  and  crew  lost  ....  260 

Crew  saved,  wholly  unhurt        .          .         .         .          16 

Crew  saved,  injured  (and  lived)    .          .         .         -54 
Total  crew  saved  (and  lived)     ....          70 

Officers  saved       .......     24 

Total  officers  and  crew  saved  (and  lived)    .         .         94 


See  pages  248-256  for  the  individual  records. 


247 


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John  Harley,  2116  Annin  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa 
M.  Harris,  sister,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 
Millard  Harris,  father,  Booth  Bay  Harbor,  Maine. 
Westmore  Harris,  father,  Charles  City,  Va. 
Michael  Harty,  brother,  10  22d  Street,  New  York, 
Peter  Hassel,  father,  Saba,  W.  I. 
Wendell  Hauck,  father,  238  Graham  Avenue,  Broc 
Mary  A.  Hawkins,  mother,  West  Bay  City,  Mich 
Annie  Heffron,  wife,  1515  Dean  Street,  Brooklyn, 
John  A.  Hennekes,  42o^Milton  Street,  Cincinnati, 
Hannah  O'Brien,  aunt,  "548  Columbia  Street,  Broo 
No  relatives.  Born  Trondhjeim,  Norway,  June  6, 
Melvin  H.  Herriman,  father,  Chaptico,  Md. 

Patrick  Holland,  father,  60  isth  Street,  South  Bro 

Pauline  Holm,  mother,  Horton,  Norway. 

Andrew  Holzer,  father,  40  Union  Avenue,  Brookl; 
Annie  Hart,  sister,  Whitehall,  N.  Y. 
Joseph  Hough,  brother,  Madison  Street,  New  Yor 
James  Hughes,  father,  Gengerborough,  County  K 
Zechariah  Hutchings,  father,  546  West  3gth  Street 
No  relatives.  Born  Yokohama,  Japan. 

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William  Jernee,  father,  51  Water  Street,  New  Bn 
lotment  drawn  by  Abbie  Jernee,  York  Street,  Br 
No  relatives.  Born  Denmark,  November  21,  1863 
John  Johnson,  father,  14  Rorstrand,  Stockholm,  S 
John  Johnson,  n  Bond  Street,  Lynn,  Mass. 
Lancaster,  Pa. 
Elizabeth  Johnson,  mother,  Washington. 
Arthur  Johnson,  brother,  United  States  Navy. 
Jons  Person,  father,  Silverberg,  Sweden. 
iames  Jones,  brother,  316  La  Salle  Ave.,  Ottawa, 
•ilton,  N.  H. 
Mary  A.  Just,  7  Sires  Street,  Charleston,  S.  C. 
No  relatives.  Born  Worcester,  Mass.,  October  29 

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Nameand  Address  of  Next  of  Kin 

156  Terrace  Street,  Roxbury,  Mass. 
Rollins,  Monfort,  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa. 
Born  Charles  City,  Va. 
Louisa  Merchant,  233  Normandy  Street,  Havre,  France. 
Teresa  Moss,  wiff,  788  27th  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Draws  allot- 
ment. 

Jane  Moss,  Rainwood,  N.  C. 
Lewis  Mudd,  302  G  Street,  S.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Bartholomew  Murphy,  Roberts  Cove,  County  Cork,  Ireland. 
632  East  i36th  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Marie  Nielsen,  mother,  Fredericksund,  Copenhagen,  Denmark. 
Pcder  Nielsen,  father,  49  Overgordle,  Odensee,  Denmark. 
John  Noble,  father,  Fortland,  Easkey,  County  Sligo,  Ireland;  or 
Mrs.  Jane  Powers,  sister,  East  27th  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
John  Nolan,  brother,  126  Emerson  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 
Phillip  O'Connor,  father,  Bayonne  City,  N.  J.  Draws  allotment. 
No  relatives.  Born  June  28,  1874,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
No  relatives.  Born  Aug.  25,  1870,  Japan. 
Margaret  O'Neill,  mother,  Callenford,  County  Louth,  Ireland. 
Elizabeth  Sablehous,  mother,  Sixth  and  Patterson  Streets,  Newporr,Ky. 
Catherine  O'Regan,  413  Chelsea  Street,  East  Boston,  Mass.  Draws 

allotment. 
Nellie  Smith,  sister,  1884  Niagara  Street,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
John  Palmgren,  father,  Allrun,  Helsingborg,  Sweden. 
Louis  Panck,  father,  Lynchburg,  Va. 
Ida  Perry,  mother,  84  Nicholsen  Street,  Norfolk,  Va. 
Ellery  P.  Phillips,  father,  21  South  Stewart  Street,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Robert  Pilcher,  uncle,  18  Webster  Place,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Mrs.  Grace  Pinkney,  8  South  Street,  Annapolis,  Md.  Allotment 
drawn  by  Eva  F.  Pinkney,  Norfolk,  Va. 
Jnne  Beyers,  sister,  Tom's  Ridge,  Westchester  County,  New  York. 
Draws  allotment. 
Margaret  Powers,  Crosshaven,  County  Cork,  Ireland. 
Kate  Price,  mother,  Stoneham,  Mass. 
John  Quigley,  862  loth  Avenue,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Draws  allot- 
ment. 
Mary  E.  Miniard,  101  Fourth  Street,  Chelsea,  Mass.  Allotment  drawn 
by  Edward  Joseph  Miniard,  Boston,  Mass. 
No  relatives.  Born  Stettin,  Germany,  Dec.  10,  1873. 
Adolph  Reden,  father,  Monestry  Street,  Union  Hill,  N.  J. 

Issue  from  Explosion 

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.  .  .  John  Reilly,  246  Henry  Street,  New  York,  N.  ' 
.  .  .  Samuel  N.  Richards,  Westville,  N.  J. 
.  .  .  Chicago,  111. 
.  .  .  Daisy  Rieger,  wife,  Washington,  D.  C. 
.  .  .  Elihu  Rising,  father,  Portchester,  N.  J. 
ob- 
.  .  .  Randolph,  Mass. 
.  .  .  Lillian  Laverty,  sister,  1004  Garden  Street,  Hobo 
drawn  by  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Stein,  808  Garden  St 
.  .  .  Carlma  Roos,  Christianstad,  Sweden. 
.  .  .  No  relatives.  Born  March  15,  1870,  Tottenham 
.  .  .  Joseph  Rusch,  father,  Detroit,  Mich. 
E..  Margaret  Rushworth,  wife,  202  Church  Street 
allotment. 

.  .  Charles  Safford.High  Street,  Taunton,  Mass. 
.  .  Eliza  Salmin,  sister,  Libau,  Russia. 
1..  New  York,  N.  Y. 
.  .  John  Schroeder,  father,  24  Catherine  Street,  Brc 
.  .  No  relatives.  Born  Hanover,  Germany,  May  9 
[.  .  Andrew  Scott,  father,  Freeport,  Long  Island, 
ob 
.  .  James  Scully,  father,  1439  Kenry  Street,  Baltim 
er- 
.  .  Michael  Seery,  father,  Naas,  County  Kildare,  I 
.  .  John  L.  Sellers,  Shelby,  Ohio. 
.  .  Cornelius  Shea,  father,  36  Winter  Street,  Haver 
.  .  .  Ellen  Shea,  mother,  107  Mott  Street,  New  York 
.  .  .  Michael  Shea,  father,  Willimantic,  C'onn. 
.  .  .  Dennis  Shea,  father,  148  East  36th  Street,  New 
er- 
.  .  Joseph  Sheridan,  father,  Arra,  County  Cavan,  1 
.  .  .  J.  Shillington,  216  East  Indiana  Street,  Chicagc 
ob- 
.  .  .  Mrs.  Emma  Ruffin,  mother,  105  Fayette  Street, 
•1 

.  .  .  No  relatives.  Born  June  15,  1874,  at  Hamburg 
e  .  Mrs  M.  C.  Smith,  mother,  Lynchburg,  Va. 
.  .  .  Severin  Stevenson,  father,  Christiansand,  Norw 
.  .  .  New  York,  N.  Y. 
.  .  .  Prince  Edward's  Island. 
.  .  .  Sabe  Sugisaki,  brother,  Takata,  Muro  Odawara 

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ubtful  .  Hagerstown,  Md. 
sitive.  .  No  relatives.  Born  Galveston,  Texas,  March  10,  1868. 
abable.  No  relatives.  Born  June  17,  1868,  in  Japan. 
William  H.  Talbot,  father,  Middle  Street,  Bath,  Maine. 
Annie  P.  Teackle,  mother,  14  Stuyvesant  Place,  St.  George,  N.  Y. 
Jeremiah  Tehan,  father,  71  Division  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Draws 
allotment. 

No  relatives.  Born  Aug.  6,  1854,  Ionian  Islands,  Greece. 
Charlestown,  Mass. 
Timothy  O'Connor,  202  Elm  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
ubtful.  Gerhard  Brandkamp,  191  Ruge  Street,  Oelde,  Germany. 
Boston,  Mass.  Bom  in  Digby,  Nova  Scotia, 
siuve..  William  H.  H.  Tinsman,  father,  East  Deering,  Maine. 
Maria  A.  Borche,  Brala,  Roumania. 
Elizabeth  A.  Toppin,  wife,  304  West  3gth  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
No  relatives.  Born  Jan.  7,  1869,  Waterbury,  Conn. 
Margr.ret  Tuohey,  mother,  372  Hicks  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
.......  Dee  Turpin,  mother,  Long  Branch,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
ubtful  .  Durkheim,  Germany. 
Thomas  Wallace,  father,  43  I  Street,  South  Boston,  Mass. 
James  H.  Walsh,  25  Blaine  Street,  Brockton,  Mass. 
Craven  County,  N.  C. 
William  Warren,  father,  Randolph,  S.  C. 
No  relatives.  Born  May  24,  1874,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Sarah  Lawford,  mother,  Bar  Harbor,  Maine. 
Mrs.  C.  O.  White,  wife,  67  Poplar  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Draws 

allotment. 
Luke  White,  father,  146  Nassau  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.Y.  Draws  allotment, 
ibable  .  Caroline  White,  mother,  King  Street,  Portsmouth,  Va.  Draws 

allotment. 
Sarah  Whiten,  Middleburg,  Va. 
Henry  Wickstrom,  father,  Helsingfors,  Finland. 
Isaiah  Wilbur,  1806  South  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Draws  allotment. 
Isaiah  Wilbur,  1806  South  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Mrs.  Henry  Williams,  2  Hay  Street,  Richmond,  Va. 
Margaret  Williams,  wife,  254  Weit  i8th  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
ghtly.  .  Catherine  Willis,  Keyport,  N.  J. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Anna  M.  Wilson,  17  Bond  Street,  Chicago,  111. 
Mamie  Wilson,  New  York.  Draws  allotment. 
Jacob  Ziegler,  father,  124  Nelson  Street,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 
l 

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256 


APPENDIX    H 

BURIAL  AND  IDENTIFICATION  LIST  OF  THE  REMAINS 
OF  THE  "  MAINE'S  "  DEAD,  FROM  THE  RECORDS 
OF  CHAPLAIN  J.  P.  CHIDWICK,  U.  S.  N.,  TO  MARCH 
26,  1898,  WITH  ADDITIONS  MADE  THEREAFTER  BY 
CAPTAIN  C.  D.  SIGSBEE,  U.  S.  N.,  FROM  THE  RECORDS 
OF  THE  NAVY  DEPARTMENT 

SUMMARY  OF  MORTUARY  STATISTICS 

Officers  killed 2 

Officers'  bodies  recovered  and  identified .          .  I 

Officers  missing           ......  I 

Crew  killed  at  explosion          .         .         .         .  250 

Crew  injured,  and  died  later  at  Havana       .          .  8 

Total  crew  lost        ......  258 

Dead  of   crew  recovered   and    actually  or   sup- 
posedly identified         .....  73 

Dead  of  crew  recovered  but  not  identified  .          .  1 18 

Total  crew  buried  .          .          .         .          .          .  191 

Crew  missing      ...         ....'•         •          -67 

Officer    buried    at    Allegheny    Cemetery,    Pitts- 
burg,  Pennsylvania           .....  I 

Crew  buried  at  Colon  Cemetery,  Havana         .  166 
Crew  buried  at  Key  West            .         .         .         .25 

See  pages  258-270  for  the  list. 
17  257 


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under  it  the  words,  "Young 
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a  heart  pierced  with  a  knife  
Japanese  about  35  years  of  age, 
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The  body  of  a  man  about  30  years 
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Next  to  top  left. 

Next  to  lowest  left.  The  re- 
mains of  these  eight  bodies 
(Nos.  149  to  156)  are  buried 
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Died  in  San  Ambrosio  Hospital, 
Feb.  82  
Nos.  149  to  156  were  the  charred 
remains  of  these  eight  bodies,  prin- 
cipally ashes  

Trunk  and  two  arms.  No  marks  .  . 
The  body  of  a  man  about  40  years 
of  age,  tall  and  strong  
The  body  of  a  young  man  about  18 
years  of  age,  medium  height, 
quite  strong,  and  average  weight. 
The  body  had  marine  undercloth- 
ing, and  was  found  at  the  hatch 
forward  of  the  marine  compart- 
ment   
Charred  head  and  trunk.  .  . 

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very  tall  and  strong;  mark  of 
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"J.  W.  Johnson"  marked  on 
drawers  
ied  in  San  Ambrosio  Hospital, 
Feb.  25  
oung  man  ;  *-liitc  ;  an  eagle 
worked  on  the  right  arm,  and 
under  the  eagle  flags  whose  stars 
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on  a  handkerchief  
Tiite  man  about  25  or  30  years  of 
age,  medium  height  and  very 
strong;  marine  underclothing  well 
soaked  with  oil  ;  probably  an  oiler 
or  machinist  
man  about  40  years  of  age,  ex- 
ceedingly tall  and  well  built  ;  long 
features;  marine  underclothing., 
jdy  of  a  white  man  about  35  years 
of  age;  medium  height  ;  very  fine 
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267 

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each  other,  with  two  daggers 
piercing  them  from  the  upper 
part;  above  them  a  mark  like  a 
leaf:  the  whole  in  blue,  except  a 
tinge  of  red  in  the  leaf.  Under- 
shirt was  of  blue.  No  name  on 
the  clothing  
ody  of  a  young  man  about  25  years 
of  age,  medium  height  and  stron  g. 
Body  was  of  a  white  man,  with  no 
marks.  Marine  underclothing.  . 

ositive  identification  

mark  on  the  left  forearm  like  an 
anchor,  but  only  top  of  it  was  dis- 
cernible owing  to  the  decay  of  the 
arm.  Clothing  blue  and  very  good. 
Body  of  a  man  rather  tall,  five  feet 
eight  or  nine  inches,  and  rather 
stout,  and  about  45  years  of  age. 
Many  keys  found  in  the  pockets, 
and  a  bill-head  :  "  Cabelleros  Ho- 
venes  y  Muchachos.  Baules  y 
Saccos.  De  los  Callos  Duval  y 

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A  very  tall  man,  about  six  teet  tall  ; 
underclothing  of  blue  ;  no  marks 
on  clothing  or  body.  The  body 
was  of  a  man  about  40  years  of 
age.  It  came  from  the  forward 
part  of  the  ship  

K  oung  man  aoout  25  years  ot  age. 
Small  head  like  that  of  a  Japanese, 
but  rather  too  tall  and  stout  for 
such.  Medium  height  and  very 
strong.  Undershirt  blue,  drawers 
white  (marine).  No  mark  on 
clothing  or  body.  The  body 
came  from  the  after-part  of  the 
ship  

initials  "  A.  £.  touna  on  unaer- 
clothing,  which  was  marine. 
The  body  of  a  man  about  35  or 
40  years  of  age,  very  tall  and 
strong.  The  body  came  from 
the  middle  or  forward  part  of  the 
ship  

small,  about  five  feet  two  or  three 
inches  tall;  manne  underclothing; 
no  mark  on  clothing  or  body.  It 
came  up  from  the  forward  part  of 
the  ship  

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270 


University  of  California 

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